Helmsley Charitable Trust Commits $18.3 Million for Medical Oxygen Systems in Ethiopia and Ghana: Two Three-Year Grants Reaching an Estimated 64 Million People
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has committed $18.3 million to bring reliable medical oxygen within reach of people in Ethiopia and Ghana. The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the recipient organization, said in a release dated November 12 and updated November 13 that the investment is expected to reach an estimated 64 million people, strengthening care for pneumonia patients and supporting newborn, maternal, emergency and surgical care.
The funding comes as two three-year grants. In Ethiopia, an $8.9 million grant builds on Helmsley's earlier work, which together with other donors has already connected 888 health facilities to 23 oxygen plants, and the share of supported facilities providing oxygen therapy rose from 59% to 100% between 2023 and 2026. The latest investment aims to expand oxygen access to more than 1,200 health facilities, served by 61 oxygen plants and reaching an estimated 60 million people.
In Ghana, a $9.4 million grant will establish a hub-and-spoke oxygen supply network for 270 health facilities across four underserved, hard-to-reach and high-burden regions, Bono, Bono East, Oti and Savannah, reaching an estimated four million people.
CHAI said the grants back government-led national oxygen systems built with the two countries' Ministries of Health, covering supply, trained staff, maintenance, data and financing. Initial assessments led by the Ghana Health Service, with support from CHAI and funding from Helmsley, found that many facilities do not produce their own oxygen and depend on cylinders brought in over long distances, making supply costly and unreliable.
The grants were announced on World Pneumonia Day, November 12. The Helmsley Charitable Trust is a global philanthropy, and CHAI is a global health organization that works with governments and the private sector in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen health systems; both are private nonprofit organizations.
Source: Clinton Health Access Initiative
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：医用液氧储罐。作者与授权：Sgroey，CC BY-SA 4.0，维基共享资源。 / Photo: Liquid medical oxygen storage tanks. Credit: Sgroey, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
