The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has been sourcing equipment for the fight against COVID-19 from a number of countries even as it acknowledges that there are manufacturing shortages.
During one of PAHO’s updates on COVID-19 in the Americas, Dr Ciro Ugarte, the Director of Health Emergencies, stated that the organisation has been sourcing the necessary materials from parts of Asia, the United States and even Germany, to aid in the fight against the global pandemic in the Americas.
Dr Ugarte when asked by Stabroek News about material sourcing during a virtual press conference, said that the first source of personal protective equipment (PPE) from PAHO to countries came from the organisation’s warehouse in Panama with donations that were received from several institutions including the World Health Organization (WHO).
With that he noted that the organisation is currently procuring PPE’s from several sources including Asia and even local markets in the Americas. “This is a tough situation – there is a global supply chain that is working and PAHO is part of that global supply chain and using the strategic fund in order to procure those supplies,” he informed.
In relation to the lab tests that are needed, PAHO has been sourcing those from Germany and the United States, while the purchase of ventilators, he said, was a work in progress.
