Acres of Mercy Health Solutions, a local technology and engineering research and medical supplies company, has begun mass production of Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, at affordable rates in Kano.
A statement issued by the company said the PPE have passed laboratory-controlled tests on stress, atomization, permeability, penetration, thermal conductivity and ductility conducted at the Faculty of Engineering Materials Laboratory, Bayero University, Kano.
“This laudable initiative by Acres of Mercy will expedite the delivery timeline of millions of units of PPE, keep the healthcare workers in the pandemic’s frontlines safe and stem the current up-spiralling trend of COVID-19 spread.
“Apart from being cheaper and more readily available than the overseas products, the quality and standard of the PPE produced locally by Acres of Mercy compare and surpass those produced in Asia,” the statement said.
The company said the PPE production is part of its contribution to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic as the health challenge had made global health care systems overwhelmed with potentially infectious patients seeking testing and care.
“This has put healthcare workers (HCWs) at much greater risk of infection than the general population, due to their contact with the patients’ contaminated body fluids.
“Preventing spread of infection to and from health care workers and patients relies on effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE)—gloves, face masks, air-purifying respirators, goggles, face shields, respirators, and gowns.
“These shield medical workers against viral or bacterial infection from blood, body fluids, respiratory secretions and excretions from patients.
“The need for protective gear and advanced technology/equipment for healthcare workers is high atop almost every checklist to fight this worldwide healthcare crises.
“A critical shortage of protective gear has already developed in areas of high demand. PPE, formerly ubiquitous and disposable in the hospital environment, is now a scarce and precious commodity in many locations when it is needed most to care for highly infectious patients.
“Front-line health care providers are worried as they now experience high rates of infection partly because of inadequate access to PPE. They fear getting infected by the patients they care for – then passing on the infection to their own families.
“An increase in PPE supply in response to this new demand requires a large increase in PPE manufacturing abroad and import into the country, a process that takes time many health care systems do not have, given the rapid increase in ill COVID-19 patients,” it stated.
The range of PPE products produced by the company includes coverall, face masks, face shields, footwear, gloves, gown and goggles.
