Medical Oxygen: Can Better Access Strengthen Pandemic

Why does medical oxygen matter for pandemic preparedness?

The WHO announcement behind the supplied pandemic-agreement headline dates to May 2024, when negotiations were continuing. The World Health Assembly subsequently adopted the agreement in May 2025. These developments frame a practical preparedness challenge: hospitals need treatment capacity alongside systems for detecting emerging infections. Oxygen access is one concrete measure of that capacity. [WHO negotiation announcement](https://www.who.int/news/item/10-05-2024-governments-agree-to-continue-their-steady-progress-on-proposed-pandemic-agreement-ahead-of-the-world-health-assembly), [WHO adoption announcement](https://www.who.int/news/item/20-05-2025-world-health-assembly-adopts-historic-pandemic-agreement-to-make-the-world-more-equitable-and-safer-from-future-pandemics).

Severe respiratory illness can cause hypoxemia, meaning abnormally low oxygen levels in the blood. Supplemental oxygen addresses this dangerous consequence while clinicians treat the underlying illness. WHO guidance emphasizes identifying affected patients, delivering an uninterrupted supply and monitoring their response. These capabilities also support everyday care, including children hospitalized with severe pneumonia, making investment useful between outbreaks as well as during them. [WHO oxygen therapy manual](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549554).

How large is the global medical oxygen access gap?

The 2025 Lancet Global Health Commission on medical oxygen security estimated annual treatment needs at approximately 374 million people. About 82% of that need was in low- and middle-income countries. Its separate estimate of a 5 billion-person access gap describes people without adequate access to affordable, high-quality services; it does not mean that all those people currently require oxygen. These are population estimates assembled from available evidence, rather than a direct count of individual patients. [Lancet Global Health commission](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11865010/).

The clinical demand extends beyond infectious disease to surgery, injuries, newborn care and selected chronic respiratory conditions. The commission argues that equipment deliveries alone cannot establish dependable treatment: production, distribution, clinical use, financing and maintenance must function together. The implication for preparedness is practical. A hospital's ability to obtain oxygen and deliver it consistently matters more than whether a machine appears on its equipment inventory. [Commission findings and recommendations](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11865010/).

What makes an oxygen service reliable and safe?

WHO describes oxygen provision as a connected system covering production, storage, distribution, delivery and quality control. At the bedside, pulse oximetry helps identify low blood oxygen and monitor treatment. Staff must also select suitable equipment and reassess patients as their condition changes. Medical oxygen has defined quality requirements, so supply planning includes assurance that the gas meets standards for clinical use. [WHO oxygen questions and answers](https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/oxygen).

Keeping those services operational requires continuing funding and measurable goals. WHO's national oxygen planning guidance, published in February 2025, covers assessment of existing services, implementation, financing and evaluation. Applied to hospital planning, this approach means identifying supply interruptions, budgeting for maintenance and checking whether patients actually receive the treatment they need. The practical lesson is that procurement should be followed by ongoing assessment of service performance. [WHO national oxygen planning guidance](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240106512).