July 15, 2025: MedAccess, Unitaid, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) today announce a new volume guarantee agreement between MedAccess and Synergy Gases Ltd (Synergy) to expand access to affordable oxygen for medical use across sub-Saharan Africa. This agreement marks a major step forward for the East Africa Program on Oxygen Access (EAPOA)—the continent’s first regional initiative to increase the availability of medical oxygen.
Under the terms of the volume guarantee, Synergy will provide medical oxygen to public and private hospitals across Kenya at or below a negotiated ceiling price. The oxygen will be produced at a new state-of-the-art facility near Kilifi County, Kenya, currently under construction as part of the EAPOA’s efforts to boost regional production of medical-grade liquid oxygen. From there, a hub-and-spoke model will support oxygen distribution to hospitals across Kenya and into parts of Tanzania and Uganda. Under the innovative volume guarantee agreement, MedAccess will make a payment to Synergy if sales fall below agreed volumes, giving the company confidence to invest in reliable supply chains and price medical oxygen affordably.
“We are honored to be part of this transformative agreement with MedAccess, which aims to expand access to life-saving medical oxygen throughout East Africa,” said Paras Pandya, Managing Director of Synergy Gases Ltd. “Our new facility in Kilifi County is a significant milestone in ensuring regional oxygen security and aligns with the EAPOA goal. We are grateful for the strategic support provided by CHAI and Unitaid. Their partnership has been instrumental in making this vision a reality.”
The EAPOA is developing a regional network of liquid oxygen production facilities—known as air separation units—that are strategically positioned in Kenya and Tanzania to ensure medical oxygen reaches underserved communities across the region. Funded by Unitaid, with contributions from Canada and Japan, the program uses a blended financing model that combines catalytic grant funding with market-shaping tools, such as volume guarantees, provided by MedAccess where appropriate. CHAI leads the project in collaboration with PATH and the governments of Kenya and Tanzania.
“Medical oxygen is a life-saving tool that is too often unavailable when patients urgently need it,” said Michael Anderson, CEO of MedAccess. “MedAccess is pleased to bring a powerful innovative financing solution to help boost local production of liquid oxygen, which can then be provided at stable prices. Working with the EAPOA partners, we are committed to supporting country-led approaches to increase access to this essential medical product.”
Medical oxygen is a lifesaving, essential medicine, yet it remains scarce in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries have access to less than 10 percent of what they need, putting patients at risk. Oxygen is critical for treating pneumonia, COVID-19, advanced HIV, severe tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as supporting maternal care, surgery, and emergency treatment. Closing this gap requires both immediate action and long-term, sustainable solutions to meet growing demand.
“As the global health landscape shifts, it’s more important than ever to support country-led solutions that build long-term resilience,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “This partnership reflects a new model, one where governments, local manufacturers, and global partners work hand in hand to strengthen regional supply and ensure that essential tools like medical oxygen are accessible, affordable, and reliably available where they’re needed most.”
The EAPOA aims to expand medical oxygen production by 300 percent in East Africa, and reduce oxygen prices by up to 27 percent, making it more affordable for healthcare systems across the region and enabling the treatment of thousands of additional patients each month.
“This volume guarantee represents a critical breakthrough in making medical oxygen accessible where it’s needed most,” said Zach Katz, Vice President of Child Health at the Clinton Health Access Initiative. “By partnering with local manufacturers like Synergy and using innovative financing mechanisms, we’re not just addressing immediate oxygen shortages—we’re building the foundation for sustainable, locally-owned health infrastructure that will serve communities across East Africa for decades to come.”
For more information about EAPOA, please follow this link.
— Ends —
Notes to editors
Understanding medical oxygen production
There are three ways to produce medical oxygen: (1) oxygen concentrators, small, portable systems that sit by a patient’s bedside and produce oxygen for one person at a time, but can only offer low pressure oxygen flows of up to 15L per minute; (2) PSA(pressure swing adsorption) plants, very large, complex oxygen generators that require high amounts of electricity and pressure; and (3) air separation units (ASU) that produce bulk liquid oxygen, which is stored in large tanks and then vaporized to gaseous medical grade oxygen and fed into a hospital system. Liquid oxygen produced by ASU plants is seen as “best-in-class” and is most commonly used in countries with robust health care facilities.
About the partners
About MedAccess
MedAccess is a social enterprise committed to improving health in more than 100 countries. Our mission is to cut illness and death by speeding up access to lifesaving vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and technologies for people in underserved communities.
Using US$200 million capital from British International Investment, our agile team of global health and investment experts shapes agreements that break down the barriers preventing people from accessing medical innovations.
We are independent and not-for-profit, with any operating surpluses invested into developing new agreements to accelerate access to healthcare.
For more information see www.medaccess.org and follow MedAccess on X @MedAccessUK.
About Unitaid
Unitaid saves lives by making new health products available and affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries. Unitaid works with partners to identify innovative treatments, tests and tools; helps tackle the market barriers that are holding them back; and gets them to the people who need them most—fast. Since it was created in 2006, Unitaid has unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking health products to help address the world’s greatest health challenges, including HIV, TB and malaria; women’s and children’s health; and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Every year, these products benefit more than 300 million people. Unitaid is a hosted partnership of the World Health Organization.
About Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries by enabling the government and private sector to strengthen and sustain quality health systems. For more information, please visit: www.clintonhealthaccess.org
Media Contacts
Rob Kelly, Head of External Relations at MedAccess
Mobile: +44 7867 132038
Email: rkelly@medaccess.org
Kyle Wilkinson, Communications Officer at Unitaid
Mobile: +41 79 445 17 45
Email: wilkinsonk@unitaid.who.int
Corina Milic, Director of Communications at CHAI
Mobile: +1 (416) 371-6313
Email: press@clintonhealthaccess.org
