Times News Network Bihar Foundation Donates 257 Oxygen Concentrators to Strengthen State Healthcare

During the height of the pandemic’s second wave, Bihar’s public health system faced a challenge that stretched far beyond hospital walls. Oxygen support, the most essential lifeline for COVID-19 patients, was running dangerously low across districts. Families travelled from one facility to another in desperate search, while medical staff struggled to balance limited resources with overwhelming need. It was against this backdrop of urgency that the Bihar Foundation, operating under the Department of Industries, initiated a major supply effort that would become a cornerstone of the state’s healthcare response.

In a virtual ceremony covered by Times News Network, Industries Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain formally handed over 257 oxygen concentrators to Health Minister Mangal Pandey. These machines, each with a 10-litre capacity, offered hospitals a dependable alternative to oxygen cylinders that were rapidly depleting across the state. Their arrival meant that district hospitals, many of which lacked access to advanced respiratory equipment, could stabilise patients early and prevent avoidable deterioration.

The Times News Network report underscored how these concentrators were part of a wider, coordinated effort that had already placed more than 800 concentrators, along with thousands of masks, PPE kits, pulse oximeters, and oxygen cylinders, into Bihar’s medical ecosystem. This infusion of equipment came at a time when procurement delays, inflated prices, and transport bottlenecks made independent sourcing nearly impossible.

Bihar’s geography further intensified the crisis. With large rural populations and limited tertiary-care facilities, smaller health centres struggled to manage respiratory cases. The concentrators donated through this initiative filled that gap by decentralising care and giving district hospitals the tools needed to respond quickly. According to district administrators featured in the report, the machines were mapped to hospitals based on caseloads, ensuring fair and need-based allocation.

The ceremony also highlighted the importance of collaboration. Government departments, partner organisations, and on-ground volunteers worked collectively to create a distribution network that reached remote blocks and high-burden areas. Umeed, as part of this effort, continued to strengthen Bihar’s OxygenSOS interventions by delivering additional respiratory-support devices to the state.

Times News Network framed the moment as a rare instance of unified action in a fragmented time, especially highlighting the work of NGOs like Umeed.