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Personal Protective Equipment


We have an opportunity to improve the short term and long term approach to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worldwide. We can best meet this opportunity by respecting one another’s place and space.

We should:
  • Initiate international, regional and local discussions around PPE needs. Ask countries what the want and need, and set intentions for standardization with genuine partnership.
  • Catalog the regulatory agencies involved with PPE by country.
  • Detail the manufacturing supply chain by country. Detail the current processes, time and transport logistics. List and compare product safety processes involved, including failures and breaches noted. If 60% of the PPE manufacturing is based in two countries, what is the being asked of the rest of the world? What are populations awaiting, what are the logistics issues, what are the regulatory and product safety differences between countries and how are these populations affected? Are comparisons even offered before procurement? 
  • Develop surveillance and data around PPE use. Have countries’ product safety and regulatory differences mattered when examining healthcare-acquired or workplace transmission of COVID or other pathogens? Is the same HAI and/or workplace surveillance conducted in a country with multi-manufacturer use? 
  • Detail a research and development plan that is inclusive of LMIC at all stages of research.
  • Initiate a global plan to address the recommendations, with indicators and timelines structured to recent reports.
      
            1. The five main recommendations should be a global movement. They include: 

            

            *Assembling PPE innovation

            *Improving PPE standards and quality

            *Expanding PPE manufacturing capabilities

            *Strengthening procurement practices

            *Improving usage and disposal


    2. Five recommendations for sector focus on PPE improvements include: 


*Government. Government can support and steer the establishment of at-scale regional manufacturing, supplement national preparedness stocks of PPE, and move beyond lowest-price to encourage the development of high quality and innovative PPE. We should partner with governments when welcomed. 


*World Health. World health and WHO should add the key element of ‘access to PPE’ in preparedness frameworks. Regulators and standards organisations should be convened to harmonie medical PPE standards, and target product characteristics for PPE should be set for innovative design. World health can gently steer countries forward with preparedness in mind, emphasizing preparedness for each country. 


*Philanthropic and nonprofit funding. Funders should develop and enforce ‘pull’ and ‘push’ incentives for innovation by establishing visibility mechanisms for HCW in need and visibility on PPE innovation. Funders should take care to ask populations and countries what innovations are a fit, as well.


*Financial institutions. Development banks and finance institutions can support local manufacturing and testing capacity by financing solutions and guidance. Development banks should invest in PPE,  the development of national procurement processes, quality assurance mechanisms and last mile delivery systems. 
 
*Manufacturers. Manufacturers need to engage with governments, stakeholders, innovators that meet affordability, safety and quality for healthcare. 


Rather than reinvent the wheel, we can develop a strong PPE system with expertise already at the table. And, we can do so with vested country leadership. With healthcare first in mind, the structure of PPE improvements will be set for all industries requiring personal protection on the job. 


A solid, predictable, sustainable, science-based PPE system should be prioritized, and it should be prioritized when welcomed into a country’s place and space.

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