Istanbul, Jan 12 — The UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) and Turkey’s International Health Services Inc. (USHAŞ) launched a new report – ‘Lessons Learned and Strategies for Local Manufacturing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 Response Based on Literature Review, Experience and Case Study from Turkey: USHAŞ’, at a virtual ceremony today.

The new report is the outcome of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between UNDP and Turkey USHAŞ back in June 2020. The objective of this partnership has been to work together to strengthen local capacity and build opportunities and transfer knowledge between Turkey and partner countries for developing high-quality PPE production and distribution within the framework of South-South Cooperation.

Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, New York stated, “Despite phenomenal news of vaccines and the roll out, it is as important to manage high demand for quality Protective Equipment produced under sustainable business practices. UNDP’s engagement with private sector on COVID-19 response focuses on collaboration, sustaining and supporting private sector resilience and viability; and, building capacity for resilient, inclusive, low carbon recovery.”

H.E. Prof. Dr. Emine Alp Meşe, Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey stated, “Substandard  and  uncertified  PPEs  if  they  find  their way  into  the  countries  risk  the  security  and  health  of  especially  frontline  health care  workers  and  citizens,  undermine  the  public  health  measures  in  practice  and revert  the  progress  against  pandemic.”

The new report showcases good practices from Turkey including the measures taken to mitigate the challenges of coordinating the production line and bottlenecks in the PPE value chain, including the distribution in domestic and international markets. The report includes information on PPE raw materials, necessary equipment and skills and the cost of production, making it a one stop shop for manufacturers.

Additionally, the report draws upon key sources including but not limited to World Health Organization’s most recent publications on COVID-19 and PPE standard requirements, International Finance Corporation’s tool for determining cost of production and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s PPE value chain analysis, World Trade Organization’s overview on the import-export restrictions, Asian Development Bank’s PPE market analysis among others.

Media queries: Sangita Khadka, Communications Specialist, UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, email: sangita.khadka@undp.org | Tel: +1 212 906 5043