Why PPE is being shipped from Newport to Namibia

Last month, Namibia was estimated to have the highest daily death rate from the virus – with an ongoing drought causing its own problems.

With water in short supply, basic actions to prevent the spread of the deadly virus have been compromised, with measures such as hand washing not always possible.

In a bid to help out, first minister Mark Drakeford this week announced that millions of items of PPE is being sent to the stricken nation, as part of a longstanding partnership between the two nations, named the Phoenix Project.

Earlier this week, Mr Drakeford met with the Namibian high commissioner to the UK, Linda Scott, and professor Judith Hall of Cardiff University, as part of the agreement to ship masks, gowns, sanitiser, and other items of PPE overseas.

The items were held in a NHS facility in Newport, which is the home of a large chunk of Wales’s PPE supplies.

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Speaking to the Argus from the facility, Mr Drakeford said: “Behind me are boxes of PPE, the stuff that is used by frontline workers in the NHS, or in social care, which we are able to provide to one of our very important partners in Africa, the country of Namibia, which is currently suffering an enormous impact from the latest wave of coronavirus.

“This is a gift from the people of Wales to the people of Namibia, to help them in the enormous efforts they are having to make to deal with the impact of coronavirus in that country.”

The efforts to supply Namibia with PPE show that Wales is a long way removed from the early days of the pandemic, when PPE was in short supply.

When Covid-19 arrived on these shores during the first wave, there was a clamour for protective equipment, both in the health service and in private care.

But over time, the systems have been put in place, and the first minister revealed that Wales is now in a position where it can send millions of items abroad, and still retain a plentiful supply for use here.

He said: “The issues we had in the very earliest days of coronavirus in Wales have been well overcome.

“The warehouse we are in has literally millions of items of PPE for the use in our own NHS, and in our own social care system.

“And because of the systems that we have been able to set up, we now are in a position to be able to offer some millions of items to other parts of the world, particularly where we have strong partnerships, and particularly where the need is greatest.”

However, despite these encouraging signs, he confirmed that the government was not wavering on its existing plans in terms of further loosening restrictions.

No further changes are being made in this current three week period, and the next time that further changes could be made will be mid-September.

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What else has been said about the PPE gift?

Colin Riordan, Cardiff University vice-chancellor said: “Cardiff University runs the Phoenix Project, in partnership with the University of Namibia, and we’re here because the Phoenix Project has arranged with the Welsh government for the donation of substantial amounts of PPE to Namibia.

“The situation in Namibia has been quite dire in terms of the lack of medicines, the lack of PPE, the lack of vaccines. Fortunately, they are past the worst now but, there’s still a real need for the PPE in the healthcare system, and that’s where we’re able to help, because we have a longstanding project, the phoenix project, which has worked in the area of healthcare to support the system over there.

“Wales is sending masks, medical masks and filtration masks, as well as gowns, gloves, face shields, all those items of PPE that we’ve become familiar with.

“The first minister was absolutely clear there is more than sufficient PPE for the healthcare system in Wales for all the needs that we have, and we have a superb distribution system for that. All the logistics are in place, and so we can be confident that there’s enough PPE for Wales, and that we’re able to donate these millions and millions of items, 11 containers worth I believe, to Namibia.”