African Paediatric Realities Days: Oxygen As A Vital Right

The Cameroonian Society of Paediatrics (SOCAPED) on May 8, 2026 officially inaugurated the 5th African Paediatric Realities Days (JRPA) rallying experts around a theme that serves as both a clinical focus and a cry for help: "Oxygen Therapy in Paediatric Care". For the assembled clinicians, the message was clear: medical oxygen must no longer be viewed as a supplementary treatment, but as an essential medicine on part with antibiotics or life-saving vaccines. Professor David Chelo, President of SOCAPED, opened the congress with an analysis of the current landscape. He noted that for children facing neonatal respiratory distress, severe pneumonia, or sickle cell crises, immediate access to oxygen is the thin line between survival and tragedy. “Oxygen is not a luxury, it is an essential medicine. Providing every Cameroonian child the right to breathe freely is a mission of national dignity", Professor Chelo said. However, the 5th JRPA has moved beyond theoretical discussion, adopting a precision toward three practical objectives designed to overhaul healthcare delivery. Experts are seeking ways to break the cycle of chronic shortages by guaranteeing a constant flow of oxygen from production centers to hospital bedsides. Discussions centered on modernizing life-saving tools, specifically the maintenance of oxygen concentrators, highpressure cylinders, and hospital-wide piping systems to ensure reliability. Recognizing that technology requires human expertise, the congress is prioritizing the training of personnel to move from empirical administration to scientifically regulated, safe oxygen ther...