Who funds PSA oxygen plants in public hospitals?

The Global Fund

A PATH brief of June 2026 describes the Global Fund as the largest source of external donor funding for medical oxygen, pulse oximetry and respiratory therapies in low- and middle-income countries since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the same brief, between 2021 and 2025 the Global Fund's COVID-19 Response Mechanism invested around 564 million US dollars to expand access to oxygen in over 80 low- and middle-income countries, an investment that financed more than 300 oxygen plants and trained over 1,000 health professionals across almost 500 health facilities, and in 2025 the Global Fund announced that it would continue to offer medical oxygen to eligible countries in Grant Cycle 8.

Grant Cycle 8 covers the 2026 to 2028 allocation period. The Global Fund's Modular Framework Handbook for it (published 10 April 2026, updated 26 June 2026) lists oxygen supply, including installation of PSA plants, site preparation, spare parts, extended warranties and maintenance, among the indicative activities of its module on medical oxygen and respiratory care systems, part of resilient and sustainable systems for health and pandemic preparedness (RSSH/PP), together with piped oxygen and medical gas networks. Its prioritisation guidance (issued 13 April 2026) narrows this: it puts the optimisation and sustainability of existing oxygen services first, prioritises Global Fund support only where alternative funds are not available and facilities serve significant populations of people living with HIV, TB or malaria, and suggests considering deprioritising scale-up of complex and auxiliary oxygen equipment.

Funding requests are developed and endorsed by applicants, most commonly the Country Coordinating Mechanism, after the Global Fund's allocation letters, which were to be shared from March 2026; the Global Fund expects smaller allocations alongside other reductions in health financing. Purchases with its grants follow its quality assurance policy (amended 15 November 2023), which requires a competitive process for best value for money and disclosure of the manufacturer and manufacturing site.

The World Bank

In World Bank-financed projects, the government borrower buys the goods, works and services, under the World Bank Procurement Framework. In one example, a World Bank press release of 5 December 2021 reported PSA plants financed under a COVID-19 emergency response and health systems preparedness project, procured and installed by UNOPS, which was also to operate and maintain them for three years.

UNICEF and UNDP

UNICEF says it has supported oxygen scale-up activities in over 100 countries since 2020. Where there are no large-scale oxygen systems, it provides fully operational oxygen plants through its Plant-in-a-Box solution, and it runs an Oxygen-as-a-Service initiative based on public-private partnerships. Its Oxygen System Planning Tool helps governments, donors and oxygen suppliers understand the full, long-term cost of establishing and operating an oxygen system. UNDP published its own technical and regulatory requirements for procuring oxygen generator plants (REQ-OXY-001, effective 1 January 2025), and says its Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team quality assurance team should review the technical specifications.

National budgets and the funding gap

The Lancet Global Health Commission on medical oxygen security (February 2025) estimates that closing the gap in acute medical and surgical oxygen need in low- and middle-income countries requires an additional 6.8 billion US dollars a year. The Global Fund asks applicants to align with national strategies that prioritise domestic investment, alternative donor funding or innovative and blended financing, including public-private partnership or cost recovery where appropriate. UNDP says end users should budget for the ongoing operation, maintenance and repair of PSA plants, and WHO's Foundations of medical oxygen systems (2023) lists the financial sustainability to pay local vendors for oxygen delivery, provision and maintenance among the factors to consider.

Ultra Controlo

Ultra Controlo oxygen plants serve hospitals for ministries of health, United Nations agencies and Global Fund programmes. See what certificates a PSA supplier should provide.