KIU, Main Campus - Mohamed Adawe (in picture), a 21-year-old Somalian national, built a prototype ventilator for Coronavirus patients in Somalia after he heard of a man dying from the virus simply because he did not have access to a ventilator or oxygen.

c��?The situation in the country and Coronavirus is very critical. People are dying of Coronavirus and a lack of oxygen because there are very few ventilators in the country,c⬝ said Adawe.

Somalia has one of the highest Coronavirus cases, with 1284 confirmed cases and 53 deaths. At the same time, the countryc��?cs health care system is ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic. There are only 19 ventilators available for a population of around 15 million people.

Somaliac��?cs Health Minister Dr Fawziya Abikar Nur, says the situation is urgent and has praised Adawe for stepping up at the critical moment for Somalia.

Although his ventilator is a basic concept in a country where most hospitals only have hand-held oxygen pumps, the inventor is convinced that his home-made machine can save lives.

Photo credit: Euronews