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Kathmandu, April 9

The private sector has called on the government to provide necessary incentives to start the process of manufacturing personal protective equipment in the country in a bid to deal with the shortage of the gear that is crucial to safeguard lives of people on the frontline of the fight against coronavirus disease and create employment opportunities at a time when the shutdown has rendered many jobless.

The call comes at a time when the World Health Organisation has said the global stockpile of PPE is insufficient because of surging global demand driven not only by the number of COVID-19 cases, but also by misinformation, panic buying and stockpiling. “This will result in further shortages of PPE globally.”

This has prompted the WHO to ask governments worldwide to provide incentives to industry to ramp up PPE production. But Nepal has not taken any initiative on this front so far.

The government had earlier promised to provide PPE to all hospitals, including public and private, and had initiated the process of importing these gears over two months ago. The government finally received the first consignment of medical goods on March 30, which included 100,000 sets of PPE.

But even hospitals like Seti Provincial Hospital and Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital, which have been designated for treatment of COVID-19 patients, have said their stock of PPE will last only a few days. Seti Provincial Hospital is treating four COVID-19 patients, while Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital is treating two. Other public and private hospitals are also facing acute shortage of the protective gear.

“Amidst this scenario, domestic firms can undoubtedly produce PPE on a mass scale if the government provides incentives, such as subsidies, and ensures the availability of raw materials and human resources,” said Hari Bhakta Sharma, executive director of Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Domestic firms can produce PPE on a mass scale if  subsidies are provided and raw materials and human resources are ensured

Last week, when a 65-year old female from Baglung tested positive for COVID-19, she could not be immediately transported to Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital, as the driver of the ambulance, which was supposed to pick her, fled because he did not have a PPE. Doctors of many private hospitals across the country are not attending to patients with symptoms akin to COVID-19 as they lack the protective gear. Nurses working in public and private hospitals also fear for their lives as their workplaces are short of PPE. These frontline medical workers, including ambulance drivers and cleaners, generally come into close contact with patients, exposing them to the risk of infection. If they get infected, chances of them passing on the disease to others, including family members, cannot be ruled out. It is, therefore, essential that medical workers attending COVID-19 patients put

Read the full story on The Himalayan Times

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