MLW plans to open oxygen enrichment plant in Malawi

As part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Plan (MLW) opened an oxygen enrichment plant in Blantyre, Malawi.

The plant was opened last week by Dr. Ben Phiri, Minister of Local and Rural Development of Malawi, and will produce more than 1 million liters of oxygen per day for the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and surrounding facilities in Blantyre.

Part of the funding for the plant came from a grant from the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Program partner Wellcome Trust, which provided more than £2 million in funding for the project, which was also used Provide employees with personal protective equipment.

The Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome plan cooperated with a partially completed government project to purchase and install an oxygen concentrator, which will provide oxygen to 100 specialist beds in the hospital.

The plant will also be used to fill gas cylinders that can be taken to other places nearby, ensuring that all people in the area with clinical needs have access to oxygen.

Professor Stephen Gordon, Director of the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Program, said: “As there is almost no oxygen supply in the medical system in March, this plant will make a huge difference. However, this is not without challenges, because all commercial flights are stopped. This means that engineers who build nuclear power plants cannot travel from South Africa.

He said: "We are very grateful to South Africa Ilovo Sugar Co., Ltd. for providing us with their company's jets to ensure that the engineers can rush here to complete this project. The plant itself will leave a lasting place in Malawi. Legacy, because after the COVID, the factory will play an important role in the continuous treatment of those suffering from tuberculosis, pneumonia, HIV-related lung diseases and those with chronic lung diseases."

The Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Program is a partnership between the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the University of Malawi School of Medicine, the University of Liverpool and the Wellcome Trust.

Author: MollyBurgess

Source: gasworld