The oxygen plant at Lira Regional Referral Hospital (LRRH) has begun producing up to 120 cylinders of medical oxygen each day, a milestone transforming healthcare delivery in the Lango Sub-region and neighbouring districts.
With this new capacity, the hospital can now fully meet its own oxygen needs while supplying lower health facilities within Lango, as well as selected districts in Acholi and Teso.
The plant features double-capacity production technology, enabling it to fill medical cylinders while simultaneously supplying oxygen directly through a modern medical gas piping system. To ensure uninterrupted operations, local biomedical and technical staff have been trained to run and maintain the facility, reducing reliance on outside engineers.
Peter Okello Odeke, the Principal Hospital Administrator, described oxygen as one of the most critically needed medical resources—“a big and rare medicine which every hospital and every person craves for.” For years, Lira Hospital relied on the National Medical Stores (NMS), a supply chain strained further during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the new plant has now eased this long-standing burden. “It has helped to relieve the people and the facilities of this problem,” he noted. With the plant operating at full capacity, Lira RRH is positioned to serve as a reliable oxygen hub for the wider region.
The hospital is also strengthening its specialist workforce. Two new specialists, including an anaesthesiologist, recently joined the team, bringing the total to 18. According to Okello Odeke, additional specialists are in training.
“We are progressing because we have sent two more officers to study neonatology and ICU. We hope that in the next two years, Lira will have over 20 specialties,” he said, adding that this growth puts the hospital in its strongest position yet to meet the needs of the Lango community.
Despite these advances, hospital board members say infrastructure constraints remain pressing. Board member Sam Iyuta expressed concern over outdated buildings and overstretched facilities, particularly the maternity ward, which has been forced to extend services into a tent due to lack of space. He stressed that newborns deserve dignified care and proper shelter.
The board is advocating for the construction of a new ward complex and appealing for broad support—including prayers—to help make it possible.
Commissioned in November 2024, the oxygen plant is one of four installations supported by i+solutions with funding from the Global Fund under the COVID-19 Response Mechanism. Operating 24 hours a day, the plant represents more than an infrastructure upgrade; it signals renewed hope for a region that has long struggled with shortages of lifesaving oxygen.
