Global respiratory protection specialist, CleanSpace Technology, stands firm alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) in the call for reform on PPE procurement. With staggering figures newly released on the amount of consumable waste being produced due to COVID-19, there is an immediate need to shift away from single use PPE to sustainable solutions.
Today’s technology enables advanced reusable solutions for hospitals, which deliver the much needed long-term cost savings and high assured protection for healthcare workers.
Released this month, the WHO Global analysis of healthcare waste in the context of COVID-19: status, impacts and recommendations report estimates 87,000 tons of PPE has been procured from March 2020-November 2021 — most of which is expected to have ended up as waste.
The report references recent US study results that found if every medical worker used a reusable respirator mask instead of a disposable respirator mask, for all patients encountered during the first 6 months of the pandemic, US$ 4.9 billion would be saved and the waste volume would be reduced from 84 million kilograms to 15 million kilograms.
The WHO report notes a behavior change to reusable solutions requires dedicated leadership, and focused effort - starting at the global level from multilateral institutions who advise on use and procurement of PPE such as WHO, UNICEF, the Global Fund, Gavi and the World Bank.
CleanSpace welcomes this report as a huge and positive step-change in the PPE conversation. Along with the environmental issues, relying on low-performing single use masks has created massive health and social problems with high healthcare worker infection rates and consequent staff shortages.
Leadership and education on a global scale will advance our pandemic preparedness approach to respiratory protection. The new generation in Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPRs), successfully used throughout this pandemic, create the bridge to lead healthcare organizations and governments out of single-use masks strategies. Importantly, investment in reusable systems negate costly and inadequate stockpiling measures and stretch across routine and peak demand.
