Minister of Pharmaceutical Industry, Abderrahmane Lotfi Djalem Benbahmed, chaired a meeting with the main producers of medical oxygen, during which it was decided to take many measures to ensure an optimal distribution of this vital substance, which is subject to a great demand recently due to the soaring numbers of Covid-19 infections.
A ministry’s statement indicated that the meeting was convened by the Prime Minister and held on Sunday, with the participation of executives from the Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry and representatives of the companies “Linde Gas”, “Saidal Spa”, “Maghreb Medical Gases” and “Calgaz Algerie”.
During the meeting, Mr. Benbahmed gave instructions to all producers to ensure optimal coordination with the crisis cell set-up at the level of the prime ministry, especially by providing it with information on the quantities of oxygen produced and delivered that day and the previous day, as well as the distribution calendar for the next day with the monitoring of the real needs of each health structure in addition to elaborating a customer map.
The Minister also gave instructions aimed at ensuring optimal regulation of the production and distribution of medical oxygen at the national level.
Therefore, producers are required to reduce the deadlines for oxygen analysis, in cooperation with the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products and the dealer, to determine a specific and final route for the distribution of oxygen, in addition to expanding the scope of the distribution of oxygen bottles outside production sites to ensure a better logistical organization of deliveries to health structures.
According to the statement, during this meeting, instructions were given to the producers to redouble efforts and ensure continuous mobilization of their production units and teams in order to respond to the current huge demand for medical oxygen.
