Limited access to medical oxygen has long hindered care for conditions like pneumonia, neonatal infections, chronic respiratory diseases, and COVID-19. Today, 60 percent of the world’s population lacks access to safe and affordable medical oxygen, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the greatest burden.
Yet improving access requires more than equipment. Health workers must be adequately trained to safely administer and monitor oxygen therapy, and biomedical engineers must be sufficiently trained to operate and maintain respiratory care equipment and related devices.
PATH supported a number of countries—including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), India, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia—to build these essential skills and keep oxygen flowing.
Embedding oxygen skills in training curricula
Many countries lack standardized curricula for both students and practicing health workers on the safe use, monitoring, and management of medical oxygen. PATH is helping address this foundational gap by supporting the development and rollout of national training programs.
In the DRC, PATH worked with the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare and university partners to develop a first-of-its kind oxygen delivery training curriculum, which is now implemented across the University of Kinshasa, Protestant University in the Congo, and Mbujimayi University. PATH also supported the Malawi Ministry of Health to develop a training curriculum on the use of medical oxygen, with targeted implementation for both in-service providers and lecturers at health training institutions.
“This course addresses a gap, which has existed for a long time. We are not surprised by the response it has received.”— Eunice Nyirenda, Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi
Across several states in India, PATH is advancing multiple oxygen-related curricula. In Bihar, PATH partnered with the State Disaster Management Authority to launch large-scale trauma care and emergency preparedness trainings. In Uttar Pradesh, teams worked with the state government and King George’s Medical University to design specialized modules for emergency medical technicians, as the National Neonatology Forum - Neonatal Quality Improvement Program (NeoQuip), an innovative training program on detecting and managing respiratory infections in newborns and children.
In Zambia, PATH supported the Ministry of Health and the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority to introduce a skills award curriculum in medical oxygen management and maintenance—combining theoretical and hands-on modules for biomedical engineering students at Evelyn Hone College and Northern Technical College. A complementary curriculum on maintaining respiratory care equipment was also developed for a new training center at the University of Kinshasa in the DRC.
A lecturer at Evelyn Hone College in Zambia demonstrates to biomedical engineering students how to connect a breathing circuit to respiratory care equipment. Photo: PATH.
Training centers of excellence for hands-on learning
Centralized, facility-based learning environments are crucial for building real-world skills. PATH is supporting governments to establish or strengthen training centers of excellence in the DRC, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia.
In Tanzania, PATH and the Ministry of Health designated the Morogoro Institute of Health and Allied Science as a national training hub. By repurposing an unused skills laboratory, the institute now houses a fully equipped center for training health care workers and biomedical engineers in safe oxygen delivery, emergency and critical care, and equipment maintenance. Ownership has transitioned entirely to the Ministry of Health—ensuring long-term sustainability.
PATH, Ministry of Health representatives, and university stakeholders celebrate the launch of the new skills laboratory at the Morogoro Institute of Health and Allied Science in Tanzania. Photo: PATH.
A new training center of excellence in Dakar, Senegal, provides certification training on medical oxygen systems and offers realistic simulation-based learning for both health workers and biomedical staff. Remote training is also available through integrated audio-video equipment, broadening its reach.
Similarly, at the University of Kinshasa in the DRC, PATH supported the establishment of a training center that offers basic and advanced certification in oxygen therapy. The center aims to build local capacity, with a minimum target of 300 trainees each year.
In addition, PATH provided respiratory care equipment to 12 existing training colleges in Malawi and 2 in Zambia through its Oxygen Delivery Gap Fund. Using their newly developed curricula, these training colleges are now equipping health workers with the quality skills to keep oxygen flowing to patients in need.
A lecturer demonstrates appropriate respiratory care techniques for infants and children at a new training center in Dakar, Senegal. Photo: PATH.
eLearning expands training reach
To extend training beyond physical classrooms, PATH has helped several countries to digitize their oxygen-related training programs.
PATH collaborated with Vietnam's Department of Medical Services Administration to develop a comprehensive eLearning program on respiratory emergency and critical care—including oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation, and patient safety. Integrated into the national continuing medical education platform, the course is expected to benefit more than 125,000 health care workers.
“With too few doctors trained in respiratory emergency and critical care, especially at the front line, this eLearning program offers a vital solution—high-quality training available anytime.”— Dr. Nguyen Gia Binh, Vietnam Association of Critical Care Medicine
In Malawi, PATH collaborated with the Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi and the Ministry of Health to adapt in-person respiratory care trainings into an online module, accessible via the World Continuing Education Alliance. Designed to strengthen oxygen therapy skills across cadres, the course takes about four hours to complete and has already reached over 14,000 new learners.
In Maharashtra, India, PATH and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Nagpur developed telemedicine services at special newborn care units (tele-SNCU) to bring specialist support to remote facilities in the Melghat region. Using cutting-edge technology and virtual mentorship, health providers in the Dharni block now receive expert consultations and hands-on training to improve critical newborn care—contributing to nearly 50 percent reduction in newborn mortality over the past two years.
Filming for the eLearning program on respiratory emergency and critical care at the Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: PATH/Mai Nguyen.
Impact and the way forward
Beyond these major initiatives, PATH has also supported complementary trainings on fire safety (Senegal), equipment orientation and pediatric critical care (Zambia), and the rollout of the Medical Equipment and Infrastructure Management Information System in Tanzania.
Over the last three years, PATH has trained more than 17,800 people, both online and in person, across more than 500 facilities. As a result, health workers have stronger skills to safely administer and monitor oxygen therapy and biomedical engineers are better equipped to maintain lifesaving equipment.
Beyond individual capacities, these initiatives have strengthened the overall health care infrastructure—ensuring facilities are better prepared to meet rising demands for respiratory support and critical care. With countries now leading efforts to sustain and expand training for current and future providers, millions of patients stand to benefit from more reliable access to lifesaving oxygen therapy.
