MANILA—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through its Shared Service Facility (SSF) Fabrication Laboratories (FabLabs) has produced and distributed 59,127 face shields and 230 aerosol boxes across 1,026 hospitals nationwide to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals, health units, and other essential establishments doing frontline work.
The SSF FabLab projects under DTI is a private-public partnership initiative implemented through cooperators that aims to improve micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) competitiveness by providing machinery, equipment, systems, and other auxiliary items, as well as skills and knowledge under a shared system.
“There is a growing community of makers in our regions, particularly the MSME sector, who have been helping the country in providing our healthcare workers and frontliners with locally-fabricated PPEs,” DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said.
At present, 24 DTI-funded and supported SSF FabLabs along with privately-run FabLabs have collaborated with Filipino professionals, doctors, members of the academe, experts from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Fab Networks across the globe to produce medical-grade PPEs.
These SSF FabLabs have responded to the needs of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country by producing face shields, aerosol boxes, face masks, medical gowns, and ethyl alcohol. Fabrication of other medical devices such as ventilators and intubation equipment, as well as scrub suits, reusable masks and ventilators are also being explored to address the gap.
“The beauty of these SSFs and Fablabs is that the workers are from the community and they don’t need to travel far to earn a living,” said Sec. Lopez.
The trade chief also emphasized the need to create local manufacturing capacities in order to reduce import dependence, given the global shortage of critical medical supplies.
He mentioned that a few companies have already resumed operations and repurposed manufacturing to locally produce PPEs and other products related to the fight against COVID-19 during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
“With the help of various groups and individuals, we have been slowly addressing the shortage of PPEs for our healthcare workers and frontliners. There are around 10 ongoing projects that have the capacity to produce medical-grade coveralls, face masks, and ventilators, among others,” Sec. Lopez said.
“We continue to encourage members of the private sector to join in this endeavor, especially as there is a growing demand for PPEs and face masks. This will become a necessity as we redefine health standards and new protocols for business operations post-ECQ,” the trade chief added.
Amid the ongoing pandemic, the government announced through the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) the mandatory wearing of face masks or other forms of protective equipment in public places to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in the country. ♦
Date of Release: 24 April 2020