South Africa receives significant PPE order for frontline health care workers
24 April 2020
South Africa has received a significant order of personal protective equipment (PPE), which includes 2 million surgical masks and 216 000 KN95 respirators. This critical stock is intended for the sole use of frontline doctors, nurses and community health care workers, to protect them in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
This order, which arrived on Thursday night, will be bolstered by a further 784 000 KN95 respirators and 550 000 surgical masks which will arrive in the country on Sunday night.
The order forms part of a government-led centralised PPE procurement strategy that serves both the public and private health care sectors. This is led by the National Department of Health (NDoH) and the National Treasury’s Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, working in partnership with Business for South Africa (B4SA), which is an alliance of volunteer resources from across SA business bodies, organisations and companies.
In support of Government’s central procurement strategy, B4SA has developed a national PPE demand and supplier dashboard, and is driving the procurement, transport, and logistics of PPE. The procurement strategy is underpinned by a robust governance process that qualifies and vets both suppliers and their products against approved quality guidelines. All stocks that are landing in South Africa, or being collected from local suppliers and donors, are being delivered to the Provinces in accordance with the allocations determined by NDoH.