KOCHI: Cardinal George Alencherry, major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and president of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, on Sunday appealed to the state and Central governments to treat the availability of medical oxygen as a basic human right.
Governments should immediately take all necessary measures to make oxygen available to the people who are struggling to hang on to their lives in various hospitals and health care centres, he said.
“We usually speak of food, clothing and shelter as the basic human needs that a government should provide for its people. Now, in the wake of Covid-19, people’s lives are in extreme danger and there is a clamour for medical oxygen to survive. It is the bounden duty of the government to make available medical oxygen in all hospitals and health care centers across India,” said the cardinal.
The government should not see medical oxygen as a marketable commodity to be left to commercial agencies for profiteering, he said.
“There are many who cannot afford to buy medical oxygen from the open market because of exorbitant prices. So, the availability of medical oxygen should be seen as a basic need and be made available free of cost to the citizens of India,” said the cardinal.
“At a time when many parts of the country are facing an oxygen crisis, we hope governments will rise to the occasion to get rid of all bottlenecks -- political or transport-centered. Governments should come forward to use all its resources including chartered flights to bring medical oxygen from abroad, so it can be made available to the states in need.”
The cardinal added that the Church appreciated the steps already taken by the Central and state governments to stave off the disastrous effects of the pandemic, but still much remained to be done.