# Oxygen Plant-in-a-Box

The Oxygen Plant-in-a-Box is a UNICEF emergency package, described in a UNICEF Supply Division brief of November 2021, that supplies a complete pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plant with accessories, installation, pre-planned maintenance services and staff training, ready to operate within days of arriving.

UNICEF says it worked with industry to develop the package during the COVID-19 response, so that governments can avoid lengthy, risky and costly efforts to design and procure custom-made plants. The plants are designed for health facilities in low-resource settings and those faced with a sudden emergency, and come in two configurations: standard plants, shipped as individual pieces and installed in an existing indoor space, and containerized plants, installed in a shipping container that can be set up outside a health facility.

Oxygen reaches patients in cylinders placed at the bedside, which are returned to the plant to be refilled, and the plants are designed to be compatible with ward piped systems, now or in the future. UNICEF gives two output figures for a 24-hour period: 135 cylinders (20-litre bottles) filled, and 720,000 litres of medical oxygen provided. Its oxygen page (read 23 October 2026) says that in regions without large-scale oxygen systems UNICEF provides fully operational oxygen-generating plants through the Plant-in-a-Box solution. See how UN agencies procure oxygen plants.

## Sources

- [UNICEF Supply Division, Oxygen Plant-in-a-Box brief (November 2021)](https://www.unicef.org/innovation/media/16686/file)
- [UNICEF Office of Innovation, Oxygen Plant-in-a-Box (web page, read 23 October 2026)](https://www.unicef.org/innovation/oxygen-plant-box)
- [UNICEF, UNICEF and oxygen (web page, read 23 October 2026)](https://www.unicef.org/innovation/unicef-and-oxygen)

Reviewed: 2026-10-23. Ultra Controlo engineering. https://library.ultracontrolo.com/glossary/plant-in-a-box/