SA's chance to source PPE from the global market are slim - BUSA
As South Africa steps up its manufacturing of face masks to help curb the spread of COVID-19, Business Unity South Africa says the global market for personal protective equipment is highly constrained as over 180 countries are competing for the same declining pool of stock.
BUSA's Stavros Nicolau says business is supporting the Health Department to source these products.
He says BUSA's approach to ramping up PPE stock includes sourcing them from global markets, scaling up and strengthening local production and calling for donations from companies that already have existing PPE supplies.
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Nicolau says it's vital that South Africa protects its frontline healthcare workers.
"South Africa is a little late in the souring game because we are only in week six of the pandemic. Many other better resourced and much bigger countries like China are in week 22, so they have had a significant head start of procuring global supply of PPE ahead of us as a country. That has made the sourcing of PPE increasingly difficult."
