Massive spikes in COVID-19 infections in countries like India and Kenya have exposed desperate shortages in the supply of oxygen for patients. Trevor Duke explains what lies behind the shortages.

He argues that governments and health services should invest in bedside oxygen concentrators and generators to supply whole hospital or district needs. And that global agencies should support this in a similar way that vaccines are being scaled up through global partnerships like COVAX.

Moina Spooner

Commissioning Editor: East and Francophone Africa
Police personnel escort a truck carrying medical liquid oxygen to the Guru Nanak Dev hospital in Amritsar, India, on April 24, 2021. Photo by NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images

What steps must be taken to secure oxygen – for COVID-19 patients and into the future

Trevor Duke, The University of Melbourne

For now, governments and health services should invest in bedside oxygen concentrators and oxygen generators to supply whole hospital needs.

Health + Medicine

COVID-19 in India: an unfolding humanitarian crisis

Michael Head, University of Southampton

Stories of reaching herd immunity were certainly premature.

Why some people don’t experience vaccine side-effects, and why it’s not a problem

Veenu Manoharan, Cardiff Metropolitan University

There are many reasons your immune system might react differently to vaccines.

Politics + Society

Shrek at 20: celebrating the film’s unique brand of animated anarchy and sardonic irreverence

Christopher Holliday, King's College London

Released in 2001, it was the first film to really give Pixar a run for its money.

Dèby’s death threatens security in the Sahel: Nigeria has a key role to play

Folahanmi Aina, King's College London

Chadian president Idriss Deby's death has serious implications for stability in the troubled Lake Chad Basin and the broader Sahel region of West Africa.

Business + Economy

If China’s middle class continues to thrive and grow, what will it mean for the rest of the world?

Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

If China's economy recovers from the pandemic, its authoritarian political system could become even more influential around the world.

Malawi’s farm subsidies aren’t helping women: but there are solutions

Dieter von Fintel, Stellenbosch University; Anja Smith, Stellenbosch University; Francesca Marchetta, Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA); Martin Limbikani Mwale, Stellenbosch University

Malawi's revamped subsidy regime is designed to reach many more farmers. But a granular look shows that women aren't reaping the benefits.