02/07/2025
NIKKISO CO.,LTD.

Tokyo－Nikkiso Co., Ltd. has been selected to supply medical oxygen production plants as part of a regional health initiative led by Unitaid, an international organization that supports access to innovative health products in low- and middle-income countries. Under the project, four air separation units will be installed in Kenya and Tanzania to expand local oxygen production. Medical oxygen is critical for surgery, emergency care, and the treatment of severe respiratory conditions, yet remains in dangerously short supply across much of sub-Saharan Africa. This initiative aims to boost production capacity, lower costs, and improve access to lifesaving oxygen in East Africa. The Government of Japan has endorsed the effort with a contribution of $7.3 million to Unitaid.

【Air separation unit modules】

■About the project

Unitaid, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), saves lives by making new health products available and affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries. In response to the worldwide shortage of medical oxygen needed for treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has identified improving access to medical oxygen as one of its key themes.

East African Program on Oxygen Access (EAPOA) is an effort spearheaded by Unitaid. The program aims to expand medical oxygen production by 300% in East Africa and reduce oxygen prices by up to 27%, making it more affordable for health care systems across the region and enabling treatment of thousands of additional patients each month.

The Japanese government has also begun to provide support. In February 2024, then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced at a Japan-Kenya summit meeting that Japan would support capacity building in the production of medical oxygen for East Africa. The following month, Unitaid announced that the Japanese government would commit US$7.3 million to the project.

The Clean Energy & Industrial Gases group("CE＆IG Group"), part of Nikkiso's Industrial division, was selected through a competitive tendering process for the plant. CE＆IG Group is a market leading supplier of air separation plants and cryogenic equipment, with decades of experience in the manufacture of small-to-medium scale cryogenic production facilities for liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the CE&IG Group received many orders for medical oxygen production plants, globally.

■Details of the plants

We are installing cryogenic air separation units that produces high-purity liquefied gas by utilizing the difference in boiling points of liquids. The high-purity liquefied oxygen produced by the air separation unit is stored in large tanks and sent to a medical facility, where it can be vaporized into gaseous oxygen and piped to the patient's bedside at the required concentration.

Compared to oxygen gas, liquid oxygen can be stored in tanks in larger quantities, allowing for a continuous and timely supply. Once stored in tanks, liquid oxygen does not require electricity to vaporize, making it suitable for countries with unreliable electricity supplies.

CE&IG Group's air separation unit features a modular method in which most of the equipment is assembled and packaged at a factory, transported in a small number of containers, and connected on-site. Therefore, it is easy to install in remote islands and low-and middle-income countries.

【Reference: Air separation unit worked on in Jamaica by CE&IG Group】

The installation locations are Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Once constructed, these facilities will be managed and operated by local oxygen manufacturers to create an independent and sustainable market environment in which local companies can continue to produce oxygen. According to Unitaid, over the next decade, the initiative has the potential to save up to 154,000 lives in Kenya and Tanzania alone.

"Expanding local oxygen production is a crucial step toward ensuring no patient goes without this lifesaving resource," said Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new facilities in Dar es Salaam on 20 March 2025. "This investment enhances our ability to meet growing demand, making our supply more self-sufficient and reducing reliance on external sources. Now more than ever, building long-term capacity within our region is essential."

The facilities will also provide medical oxygen to neighboring countries throughout East and Southern Africa, such as Malawi and Mozambique. This effort is part of a broader push to strengthen regional preparedness for future health emergencies, building on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Koichi Kato, Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer

"We are honored to partner with Unitaid and the Kenyan and Tanzanian manufacturers on this groundbreaking initiative to address the critical oxygen gap in East Africa. For many years, Nikkiso has been addressing the issue of improving global health by providing dialysis machines and other medical equipment around the world. We are proud to be able to address this important issue with our new approach of a medical oxygen production facility."

Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid

"By empowering regional manufacturers to operate and manage advanced liquid oxygen facilities, we are not only addressing an immediate health need but also creating a sustainable market that will increase regional self-reliance," said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. "Together, with the governments of Kenya and Tanzania, partners like Nikkiso, and Kenyan and Tanzanian manufacturers, we are building a long-term solution that will save lives, strengthen local economies, and provide a model for scalable innovation in global health."

＊For reference

About medical oxygen（quoted from Unitaid's document "Issue Brief: Medical Oxygen"）

Medical oxygen is a lifesaving medicine with no substitute. It is essential for surgery, emergency and critical care, and for treating severe respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and pneumonia. Medical oxygen is also critical for treating pregnant women with complications, newborns in respiratory distress and people with severe malaria, advanced HIV disease and tuberculosis (TB), among other critical health issues.

But despite its importance, medical oxygen is often unavailable where needed most. Severe shortages of medical oxygen have been a problem for decades; fewer than 50% of health facilities in many low- and middle- income countries have uninterrupted access. Inadequate health care infrastructure, lack of oxygen-related equipment, and prohibitively high costs are some of the challenges limiting access to medical oxygen. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these shortages.

In early 2021 the need for medical oxygen rose tenfold in just a few weeks; many hospitals ran out of medical oxygen, leaving patients without lifesaving treatment and leading to countless preventable deaths.

Company Name: NIKKISO CO., LTD.

Head Office : YebisuGardenPlaceTower22nd　Floor,4-20-3,Ebisu,Shibuya-ku,Tokyo 150-6022, Japan

Date of Establishment: December 26, 1953

Representative Director

President & CEO : Koichi Kato

Business Overview : Nikkiso provides specialized pumps and systems in the Industrial Business, CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) aircraft parts in the Aerospace Business and hemodialysis related products in the Medical Business.

URL : https://www.nikkiso.com/

【For inquiries, please contact】

PR Section, Corporate Planning Department, Corporate Division, NIKKISO CO., LTD.

E-mail: nikkiso-pr@nikkiso.co.jp

The PDF version of this press release is available here.