Pakistan Rolls Out First Locally Produced Ventilators
By Ayaz Gul
July 06, 2020 09:54 AM
FILE - A general view of beds set up at the premises of the Expo Center, after the government turned it into a hospital following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Lahore, Pakistan, March 26, 2020.
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has rolled out its first ever locally produced ventilators for deployment at hospitals treating coronavirus patients as the national tally of COVID-19 infections rises to nearly 232,000.
The pandemic has killed about 4,800 people since late February when it reached the South Asian nation of about 220 million; however, officials have reported a consistent decline in new infections and deaths from the infection over the past week.
Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday inaugurated the production unit and handed over the first batch of ‘SafeVent SP100’ portable ventilators to the national disaster management agency.
The facility in the northern town of Haripur has a production capacity of up to 300 ventilators a month.
An official statement quoted Khan as describing production as “a landmark achievement” for Pakistan, which has long been criticized for importing crucial medical supplies, including ventilators, despite having developed sophisticated nuclear weapons.
FILE - Health workers take a nasal swab sample during a testing and screening operation for the new coronavirus, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, June 26, 2020.
Pakistan’s public health care system has for decades suffered from neglect, lack of funding and corruption, which encouraged expensive hospitals in the private sector to flourish in a country where about 25 percent of the population live below the national poverty line.
Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry recently told parliament there were only 1,400 functioning ventilators in government hospitals across the country when the pandemic hit it, immediately leading to an acute shortage of the life-saving equipment for critical coronavirus patients.
Pakistan’s close ally China, however, swiftly stepped in and sent urgent relief supplies, including hundreds of ventilators, millions of masks and testing kits, worth more than $55 million, enabling Islamabad to deal with the unfolding health-related crisis.
The United States also has pledged millions of dollars in new aid for Pakistan to help combat the ailment. President Donald Trump’s administration has already donated 100 ventilators to Islamabad out of a promised 200 machines.
Chaudhry, while hailing the U.S. “gesture of friendship,” said in a statement that Pakistan, in a short span of four months, has now begun its own large-scale production of sanitizers and personal protection equipment, noting the medical supplies are already being exported to the United States.
"In the next three years, Pakistan will have its own big medical and electromagnetic industry and I have no doubts that USA will be our major client,” the minister pledged.
Chaudhry also said three new manufacturing facilities in the public and private sector are being installed for commercial production of ventilators. He noted that Pakistan annually imports medical supplies worth more than $2 billion and pays an additional $1 billon in service agreements to run the equipment.
The minister said domestic production of medical equipment will save Pakistan much-needed foreign exchange and the country will be self-sufficient in next five years so it will not have to import any medical supplies.
Other side of the border.
Combating coronavirus: Pakistan starts local production of ventilators to fight Covid-19
Waheed Abbas /Dubai
Filed on July 5, 2020 | Last updated on July 5, 2020 at 10.16 am
(Supplied photo)
Around 12 ventilators have already been manufactured in the initial phase.
Pakistan has now joined the league of countries that are manufacturing their own ventilators at a commercial scale.
Around 12 ventilators have already been manufactured in the initial phase and production will be increased to 300 ventilators in the coming weeks, says Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan's Minister for Science and Technology.
The ventilators have been developed by the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology, to support the nation's fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
"Local production of ventilators will meet the country's requirement. Hospitals that don't have the know-how to operate ventilators can seek help from the Ministry of Science and Technology. We have created a group of 300 engineers to assist hospitals in training their healthcare workers," said Chaudhry.
He added that three more institutions are working to manufacture ventilators which will enable the country to export them in the months ahead.
The minister told Khaleej Times in an interview earlier, that the country is aiming to become not just self-sufficient in essential medical equipment like masks, sanitisers, ventilators and oxygenators, but will also be exporting them to help other countries in their fight against the pandemic.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the South Asian country totalled 225,000 on Saturday, with recoveries reaching over 125,000 and casualties hitting 4,619.
New Covid-19 cases averaged 3,000 to 4,000 per day in the previous few weeks but the numbers dropped during late June to below 3,000. Senior officials said that while the country's overall coronavirus situation was getting better, there is a significant lack of improvement in Sindh, particularly in the regional capital Karachi.
Syed Amir, general manager for the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation, said that the made-in-Pakistan ventilators are portable and can be deployed at home, hospitals or in ambulances, and that they conform to global standards.
"We have been collaborating with Turkish companies for 40 years and have been producing these ventilators under a licence agreement with one particular Turkish company. The entity is approved by the US regulator Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We are producing ventilators at a very low-cost under transfer of technology programme," said Amir.
"Currently, we can manufacture 50 to 100 ventilators in a week and can increase production to 250-300 per week in three week's time with a single shift," said Amir.
Pakistan Engineering Council has also approved the new ventilators and confirmed that their quality is to meet the global standards.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com
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