Face Shields for Uganda

Despite advanced recycling technology, only 10% of global waste is recycled. In East Africa specifically, plastic waste has inundated communities with trash, and 85% of waste ends up in natural habitats. Furthermore, with inadequate stockpiles of personal protective equipment and fragile health care infrastructure (e.g. 1 intensive care bed per 100,000 people), Uganda is not equipped to handle a substantial COVID-19 outbreak.

This is a problem we can fix. Eco Brixs and GLI will repurpose plastic waste to create high-quality, affordable face shields. This will not only clean up the community, supplement the incomes of over 3,000 people, and recycle thousands of tons of plastic, but also protect Uganda’s frontline workers against contracting and spreading COVID-19 that has changed the face of the world as we know it. 

With COVID-19 rapidly spreading around the world, East Africa’s hospitals are woefully under-equipped and personal protective equipment is virtually nonexistent. This exposes staff, patients, and the community at large to elevated risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. In a simulation study, face shields were shown to reduce immediate viral exposure by 96% when worn by a simulated health care worker within 18 inches of a cough.The market for face shields is enormous. There are 82,000 qualified healthcare professionals in Uganda, not including the millions of other healthcare professionals across East Africa that need this product. 

Furthermore, even with advanced recycling technology, only 10% of global waste is recycled. In East Africa, plastic waste threatens natural areas and animal habitats, and litters communities that largely lack effective, sustainable means of managing waste. The recycling infrastructure in East Africa is nearly nonexistent; consequently many people burn their plastic waste, emitting dangerous chemicals into the environment. 

The Face Shields for Uganda project will use our years of international development experience to produce washable, reusable, medical-grade face shields by repurposing locally recycled plastic waste—and to make them available to those who need them at an affordable price. In Uganda, there's a limited supply of face shields. The available supply has either low safety levels or is very expensive. Moreover, most shields are disposable. The Global Livingston Institute and Eco Brixs will produce a reusable face shield in line with European medical safety standards for an affordable price. This product will rebuild the trust in the healthcare system and contributes to the fight against COVID-19. 

We achieve this through a process of injection molding, adding value to the plastic waste, while creating green jobs and income opportunities. This program expands our current operations which today recycle and process 20 tons of plastic per month. Once we scale, we plan to produce 20 shields per hour, and donate 30% of all shields to hospitals and healthcare providers. Finally, GLI and Eco Brixs will work with academic partners, other NGOs, and government organizations to rigorously evaluate impact, engage interns, and market the project to the community.

The target group of this product are medical staff working at healthcare facilities, both public and private. The first customer and potential location for demonstration is the Masaka Referral Hospital. This is the main and only big hospital in Masaka, with 400 employees (300 medical staff) who serve over 2 million people. Additionally, the first COVID- 19 case was found in Masaka in March, and it is a pivot point for preventing infections in the region. Further, Masaka town includes 35 governmental and 35 private healthcare centers which each have around 20-30 medical staff. In total, there are approximately 3,150 total healthcare employees in Masaka region.

The project focuses initially on meeting the PPE needs in Masaka, with the vision and intent to scale countrywide and possibly beyond pending successful demonstration in Masaka. Based on a report of the Ministry of Health and WHO, there are around 82,000 qualified health professionals in Uganda. If we are able to keep up with demand, we will evaluate expanding into Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania with a multinational export partner. 

This project aligns with at least two of the goals of the challenge. First, our project aligns to "Health Security and Pandemics" by producing the necessary PPE for hospitals to safely treat COVID-19 and prevent its spread. Second we align to the “Good Jobs and Entrepreneurship” track by creating jobs and allowing community members to supplement income.  In fact, we hired 30 full-time staff, and paid/encouraged entrepreneurship by creating 2,500 additional income opportunities for vulnerable community member. They are paid about $.1/Kg for their efforts to beautify the community and deliver the raw materials (plastic waste) the project requires.