Government identifies quality gaps in locally produced PPEs

A team of experts from the Ministry of Health say they are a number of quality gaps that need to be addressed in the locally manufactured personal protection equipment (PPEs) used to combat coronavirus.

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The officials made the admission Thursday after a visit to Shona EPZ Limited in Athi River, Machakos County, to assess the quality of materials that are being used to make face masks, overalls and other PPEs for health workers.

“We have been able to look inwardly to determine and harness the potential that we have in our local manufacturing industries,” said government Cyrus Oguna when he addressed journalists after a tour of the factory.

 “We have seen excellent work in progress, although there is a slight gap which we have noticed as a team of experts and we have asked them to rectify what we have observed and we will come back here before the end of the week to verify once more so that it meets the standards that we have set for them,” said Dr Eva Njenga, the director at the Kenya Medical and Dentists Council.

Dr Njenga said that the company was given specifications on the kind of masks and protective gear to produce. “The specifications underwent Kebs standards and they passed. We asked them to bring the items for verification which they did and as a team we felt we should come and see what they have here,” she added.

Her sentiments were echoed by Dr Mary Nandili the director of Medical Services at the Ministry of Health. “We are happy with what they have done, but the only gap is that there is slight penetration of water. But that is something that can be rectified within a very short time,” she said.

Isaac Maluki, the director at Shona EPZ Limited, said that the company has the capacity to produce 20,000 units of PPEs in each category, per day. “We are able to produce 20,000 face masks, 20,000 overalls and same quantity of other PPEs in a day and if need be we can double up our numbers for mass production,” explained Mr Maluki.

Mr Oguna said the government is trying to get PPEs that can be used by healthcare workers at the county level. “We are asking the health officials to ensure that all PPEs be able to meet the set standards so that healthcare workers can have good equipment that is able to effectively protect them and also provide a good work environment that can give confidence,” he said.

He said that the government has been able to identify that there are companies in the country that are able to make personal protective equipment. Currently there are three local factories that are making PPEs -- Kicotec in Kitui, Rivatex in Nakuru and Shona in Athi River.

“They are all in the process of preparing a prototype that once approved they can go ahead and manufacture that,” he added.

He lauded the exercise saying that it will provide jobs for Kenyans. “Good news is that by looking inside we are able to tap into potential that we have previously not even thought that we had. This provides us with an opportunity for employment for our people and develop enterprise as the situation stabilises,” said Mr Oguna.

Dr Alfred Obengo, president of National Nurses Association of Kenya said that the exercise will ensure safety of healthcare workers “We came here to verify the quality of masks and other protective gears that our healthcare workers are going to use. We have identified some gaps and we have said that it can be rectified. Our main mission is to ensure that our clinicians and healthcare workers are safe,” said Dr Obengo.

Dr Chibanze Mwachanda, the acting Secretary General at the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union said that as stakeholders, it was very critical being part of the verification process, as the safety and protection of all healthcare workers is important. “There is a global shortage of PPEs and this is a good initiative because if we get to that point where we need mass production of PPEs we will be able to prevent what has happened in other countries through exposure of healthcare workers to infections,” said Dr Mwachanda.

Dr Njenga said that the issue of masks is very crucial, and that there is need to have regulation on who is to distribute those masks and who is to produce masks.

She called on the government to clarify on the safety of face masks. “There is need for a statement from the Ministry of Health on the masks that are recommended for use by mwananchi. It is something that should be addressed. N95 is not for community use. It is based for the healthcare workers who are on the frontline. There is the community mask, which is meant to protect the user and other people around them. Then there is the surgical mask. All of these have a different level of protection,” she said.