Billionaire Narendra Raval Pledges to Supply Free Oxygen to Kenya Gov’t Hospitals Until COVID-19 is Wiped Out

Billionaire Narendra Raval through his company Devki Steel Mills has pledged to supply free oxygen to Kenya government hospitals across the country until COVID-19 is eradicated.

Speaking at his Ruiru plant on Monday, Raval said he realized that his earlier donation of oxygen worth Sh100 million to government facilities was not sufficient. 

“When the first wave came, we established that Covid-19 patients need oxygen to survive. That is when I set aside Sh100 million to donate oxygen. Later when the third wave came in, I realized that the donation will be cleared up in two months, leaving patients suffering. That is when I committed to giving free oxygen until Covid-19 is cleared out,” he told journalists.

The industrialist indicated that the company gives out Sh3 million worth of oxygen per day, with orders coming from nearly all county governments.

“There has been an enormous rush of oxygen from all the counties as well as small and big hospitals. The queue is long and we make sure they come in shifts and that each gets their supplies. We have scaled up production of oxygen 24 hours each day to meet the demand,” he added.

Raval said the company has ordered 1,000 oxygen cylinders following a shortage in the country. The cylinders will be delivered this week.

At the same time, he urged hospitals that have been receiving free oxygen from their company not to charge COVID-19 patients for the gas.

“If we give you free oxygen, we expect you to also not charge patients for their consumption. Like the Kiambu County, it has been treating Covid-19 patients for free,” he said.