Sacred Spaces as Lifesaving Infrastructure: Mosque-Based Oxygen Hubs to Avert Pre-Hospital Deaths in LMICs

This work proposes the Distributed Emergency Oxygen Network (DEON) — a novel approach to repurposing mosques as 24/7 community oxygen hubs in low‑ and middle‑income countries (LMICs). The concept arises from a critical gap identified through literature review and field experience: pre‑hospital hypoxia contributes to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths annually in Bangladesh and similar settings, yet current oxygen strategies focus almost exclusively on hospitals. DEON leverages the extraordinary geographic density and community trust of mosques (≈1.2/km² in Bangladesh) to create a decentralized oxygen safety net. Modeled estimates, based on publicly available epidemiological and cost data, suggest that mosque‑based oxygen support could save approximately 8,500 lives per year in Bangladesh at an estimated cost of USD 11 per life saved — over 200 times cheaper than ambulance‑based oxygen delivery. This is a conceptual framework and call to action, not a pilot study: the data synthesis draws from published sources and theoretical projections rather than field trials. The proposal invites policymakers, researchers, and global health actors to formally test, simulate, and scale this model, including potential integration into WHO’s Essential Emergency Care Toolkit and national emergency strategies.