Build Health International

Project Description

BHI has been providing technical assistance to Cabo Verde since the outset of their C19RM project, starting with visits in August 2022 to the two hospitals planning to install oxygen plants. BHI’s technical team assessed the hospitals (one in Praia, on the island of Santiago and one in Mindelo, on the island of Sao Vicente) to estimate oxygen demand at the hospitals, locate possible sites for the oxygen plant installations, and develop an understanding of the existing medical oxygen infrastructure. BHI proposed specifications to the Principal Recipient, CCS-SIDA, and their partners at the Ministry of Health (MOH), for consideration.

The MOH and CCS-SIDA determined that the two oxygen plants, the first nationally-owned means of bulk medical oxygen production, should be able to support healthcare facilities throughout Cabo Verde, not just their host hospitals. BHI worked with the MOH and CCS-SIDA to optimize the oxygen plant specifications and coordinate with the oxygen plant supplier. The MOH wanted to visit a country with existing PSA plant installations in order to increase their technical understanding of the site requirements for oxygen plants. BHI connected our partners in Cabo Verde with the MOH and UNDP in The Gambia, resulting in a visit by the Cabo Verde technical team to The Gambia to tour their oxygen plant installations. The MOH in Cabo Verde executed their site preparation activities with great success, as evidenced by the high quality of their final construction. During Cabo Verde’s site construction activities, BHI provided technical reviews for architectural, structural, and electrical drawings.

BHI’s assistance to Cabo Verde culminated in a request for Project BOXER training in September 2025. BHI sent a team of four to provide Management and Maintenance Training for medical oxygen plants. The BHI team toured the completed construction at Hospital Agostinho Neto to note any areas of potential improvement for the MOH and CCS-SIDA team. BHI is standing by to support Cabo Verde as they move to commission the oxygen plants and incorporate them into their national healthcare system.