Gaza needs PPE. You can help
Everybody knew it was only a matter of time. Over the past week, the worst fears of public health officials and humanitarian agencies working in Gaza materialized in an exponential increase in cases that poses untold danger for its residents.
The situation is made worse by a nearly 15-year blockade that eroded the health care system and crippled sanitation and other infrastructure. As early as March, UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk wrote that Gaza’s “health care system was collapsing even before the pandemic. Its stocks of essential drugs are chronically low. Its natural sources of drinkable water are largely contaminated. Its electrical system provides sporadic power. Deep poverty amid appalling socio-economic conditions is prevalent throughout the Strip.” Palestinians in Gaza have never been more vulnerable to a pandemic.
While the coronavirus pandemic has affected all of us, Gaza has entered a dangerous new phase that will destroy thousands of lives.
Gaza’s first two detected cases were on March 22, 2020 in travellers returning from Pakistan. Seventeen quarantine personnel were infected by these two travellers, an early warning of how contagious the disease is. The early experiences and diligence of those in the health care and public health teams prevented the first community cases from appearing until five months later — on August 25th.
As the disease spread, the cracks in Gaza’s health care system worsened. Today, almost all of Gaza’s hundred ventilators are in use, and medical facilities are already overwhelmed.
PPE is an essential pillar of any response
Health care workers are joined by international non-governmental organizations to treat patients and contain spread of the pandemic within Gaza. Unfortunately, they remain woefully under-equipped not only to treat patients, but also to protect themselves. Basic personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies such as surgical masks, face shields and N95 respirators are not reliably available. Medical personnel without proper PPE are not only victims of the disease, but also vectors for its transmission to other patients and the communities in which they live.
When PPE is available, it is expensive or restricted by the Israeli-led blockade. These shortages and delays are accompanied by shortages in diagnostic and treatment supplies, further multiplying the health catastrophe faced in Gaza.
A comprehensive plan for PPE
Across the world, the supply chain for PPE and other medical devices has broken down. In Gaza — as in the rest of the world — the solution is to redouble efforts to meet local demand through local production as much as possible.
Glia is joining with Islamic Relief Canada to raise money for a comprehensive PPE plan for medical personnel in Gaza.
This campaign targets two of the most important and high yield pieces of PPE that can be manufactured locally: Face shields and N95 respirators. This campaign will produce traditional procurement efforts to purchase and import reusable PPE into Gaza. However, it is different from other campaigns in that it will also emphasize the local manufacture of medical devices to create a sustainable supply chain.
Face shields
Glia’s team in Gaza has been producing face shields for the past several months, but are limited by a lack of printers, engineering personnel and solar panels to power increased production. Gaza needs approximately 40,000 face shields to protect physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, custodial staff and others. Currently, the capacity of the team is 200 face shields per week. Through this campaign, we will increase that capacity to 400–600 face shields per week within the next 2–3 weeks, and up to 1000 face shields per week within 6 weeks. Glia’s experience with face shields in Canada is extensive, having produced over 20,000 face shields for Canadians.
N95 respirators
The Advanced Perioperative Imaging Lab (APIL) at the University of Toronto has done incredible research on how to locally manufacture reusable N95 respirators, culminating in two peer-reviewed publications and one submitted paper[1,2,3]. With your help, we will turn this research into masks that doctors, nurses and paramedics are able to use in Gaza.
Local manufacturing will happen quickly with the right support. Simultaneously, Glia and Islamic Relief Canada will seek to purchase and import reusable N95 respirators and face shields to help immediately.
Support #PPE4GAZA now
Support the #PPE4GAZA campaign now with a generous donation.
Creating medical devices in Gaza has risks: Israel could deny entry for the supplies, or bomb Glia’s workshop. By both importing and locally manufacturing these devices, #PPE4GAZA empowers Palestinian health care workers and engineers to solve the PPE crisis sustainably by creating local capacity. This will give medical personnel in Gaza the best chance to safely care for their patients.
With the situation as dire as it is right now, we have to think big and act now.
Donate now to our crowdfunding campaign. Your donation will earn you a charitable tax receipt (if you’re in Canada), making your dollars go further.
