[ti:Solar-Powered Oxygen Saves Lives of Somali Children] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Somali and World Health Organization doctors [00:03.64]say a medical oxygen system powered by the sun [00:07.60]is helping save lives at a hospital in central Somalia. [00:13.80]The solar-powered oxygen system [00:16.60]is the first of its kind in the country. [00:20.72]It was setup a year ago at Hanaano Hospital [00:24.88]in the central town of Dhusamareb. [00:28.96]The doctors said the system is effective [00:32.36]and is helping save the lives of very young patients. [00:38.12]"This innovation is giving us promise and hopes," [00:41.92]said WHO Somalia Representative Dr. Mamunur Rahman Malik. [00:48.80]Malik said 171 patients received oxygen at the hospital [00:54.20]from the solar-powered system from February to October of last year. [01:01.16]Of those patients, 163 fully recovered and were able to leave. [01:09.28]Only three patients died. [01:12.36]Five others were sent to other hospitals. [01:17.88]Malik said that every year 15,000 to 20,000 children [01:23.76]under five years of age in Somalia [01:26.60]die from the lung disease pneumonia. [01:30.96]He said pneumonia is the deadliest disease among children [01:35.32]under the age of five in the country. [01:39.44]Until now, health officials had not had a way [01:43.24]to reduce deaths from childhood pneumonia. [01:48.12]Dr. Mohamed Abdi is the director of Hanaano Hospital. [01:53.96]He praised the oxygen system. [01:57.68]"It has helped a lot, it has saved more than a hundred people [02:02.88]who received the service," he told VOA Somali. [02:09.04]Abdi said it was difficult for doctors [02:12.28]to save the lives of children born early at the hospital [02:16.84]before the system was put in place. [02:21.12]The new system helps maintain [02:23.80]high oxygen saturation levels in patients. [02:29.12]Oxygen saturation levels are a measure [02:32.48]of the amount of oxygen in a person's blood. [02:37.24]Abdiaziz Omar Abdi was a child [02:40.40]admitted to the hospital on January 16. [02:45.28]He had severe pneumonia [02:47.44]and was struggling to breathe normally. [02:51.76]The oxygen rate in his body [02:54.00]had dropped to 60 percent, Dr. Abdi said. [02:59.04]Doctors immediately gave him oxygen [03:02.44]and provided the medicines ampicillin and dexamethasone. [03:08.36]When he left the hospital three days later, [03:11.40]the child was breathing normally. [03:14.20]His oxygen level was up to 90 percent. [03:18.92]Abdiaziz received the treatment at no cost to his family. [03:25.36]Malik said the oxygen is being used [03:28.12]to treat many medical conditions, including asphyxia, [03:32.68]pneumonia, injuries, trauma, and road traffic accidents. [03:40.32]Malik said if this innovation is used widely in Somalia, [03:45.48]it can save the lives of at least 7,000 children [03:49.80]who die "needlessly" of pneumonia. [03:53.84]The move to install medical equipment [03:56.60]that uses solar energy at Hanaano Hospital [04:00.12]began during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. [04:05.72]At the time, many people were dying [04:09.36]because of breathing problems. [04:12.60]Hospitals were unable to treat all the patients. [04:17.60]And the cost of an oxygen container [04:20.64]rose to between $400 and $600. [04:25.80]Malik said that oxygen was "the biggest need in all the hospitals." [04:33.48]Doctors said the solar-powered oxygen system [04:37.68]can also provide electricity for other devices. [04:43.20]The doctors said solar power can help provide energy [04:47.48]for refrigeration needed to store vaccines [04:51.20]or drugs at a low temperature. [04:55.44]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM