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A baby is provided with oxygen therapy. © ALIMA A baby is provided with oxygen therapy.

About the Global Oxygen Alliance

Who we are and what we do

About the Global Oxygen Alliance

During the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2021, amidst widespread global oxygen shortages, the world’s leading health agencies created the Oxygen Emergency Taskforce as part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A). The taskforce raised more than US$1 billion to boost access to medical oxygen, expand production, negotiate for better pricing, and provide technical advice to governments. As the world transitions from the acute phase of the pandemic and prepares for future threats, the ACT-A Oxygen Emergency Taskforce has evolved into the Global Oxygen Alliance (GO2AL) – a broader and more inclusive partnership.

The aims of GO2AL are to continue the critical work of the previous taskforce and maximize the lives saved through informed investments. This will entail securing financing to expand production, seeking to lower the price of oxygen, and providing technical support on oxygen to countries. In addition, GO2AL will take a more inclusive and planned approach that emphasizes the importance of assessing oxygen and oxygen systems needs at the country, regional and global levels through key partner engagement, working with countries, industry, civil society and communities, to facilitate bottom-up planning, programming and resource mobilization.

GO2AL’s vision is to create a world in which safe, affordable, high-quality medical oxygen is available and equitably accessible to all those in need.

GO2AL’s mission is to save lives by promoting collective efforts among health and development agencies, funding mechanisms, countries, industry, civil society, communities and initiatives for UHC and PPPR to achieve the vision of making safe, high-quality medical oxygen available, affordable and accessible across all low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

GO2AL’s five objectives

  1. Drive investment consolidation and sustainability: While significant investments in oxygen were approved during the most acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work is not finished. Through 2024, GO2AL will support donors and countries to implement existing investments and reprogramme remaining funding to maximize impact through systems and implementation strengthening, while seeking to mobilize additional funds to sustain and expand medical oxygen system investments in LMICs.
  1. Strengthen innovative supply chains and market shaping: GO2AL will work to ensure improved pricing and services as well as increased production capacity in LMICs, provide coordinated technical assistance and training to countries, engage with LOX-producing gas companies and establish improved, lower cost supply chains.
  1. Support robust country planning and implementation: GO2AL will support countries in the development and implementation of robust, costed national oxygen roadmaps, provide coordinated technical assistance and training, strengthen regional networks and secure diversified financing options for more sustainable oxygen systems. GO2AL will also promote joint learning and knowledge sharing between countries to expedite affordable and equitable access to oxygen in LMICs.
  1. Advocate and generate demand: GO2AL will promote its objectives among global health stakeholders and support sustainable approaches for oxygen access in LMICs as part of HSS, UHC and PPPR efforts and, at country-level, for community engagement and domestic resource mobilization. GO2AL advocacy efforts will be evidence-based, amplifying and accelerating implementation of best practices.
  1. Measure performance and drive accountability: The initiative will collect high-quality data on oxygen access, implementation, financing and market health, and measure and report progress towards its objectives. GO2ALwill support countries to strengthen data systems to enable wider regional and global measurement of oxygen access and gaps, and engage with LOX-producing gas companies to encourage and track further positive action. Improved data availability will allow GO2AL to better plan, programme and track its commitments. 

Agile governance

GO2AL is currently hosted by Unitaid, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which comprise its Secretariat. For the first 2 years, it will be co-chaired by Unitaid (as a founding Chair of the ACT-A Oxygen Emergency Taskforce) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the largest financing channel for medical oxygen during the pandemic). The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will serve as vice-chairs. 

The new taskforce within GO2AL is its engine, generating technical, advocacy and resource mobilization outputs. In addition to the leadership, GO2AL members currently include the Access to Medicine Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Build Health International, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Every Breath Counts Coalition, Partners in Health, PATH, Save the Children, United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank and representatives from civil society and affected communities. New members, particularly representatives from LMICs, are being invited as GO2AL strives to build a stronger, more diverse and inclusive membership.

For more information, please refer to the Executive Summary of GO2AL’s Strategy.