Bypassing shortages of personal protective equipment in low-income settings using local production and open source tools

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Free and open-source hardware, 3D printing, and the use of locally sourced materials can be valuable tools for local problem solving, as proven by the production of more than 400 reusable face shields and masks in a Nigerian community to bypass PPE shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Body textAs the infection rates of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVIDAU : PleasenotethatCOVID À 19hasbeenful -19) rose globally, personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages led to an increased risk of infection and decreased effectiveness in health response systems [1].Prices for surgical masks, respirators, and surgical gowns hiked, and some countries blocked PPE exports to guarantee national access [1], while others reportedly intercepted international shipments and delivered them to the highest bidder [2].To help tackle this issue, alternative means of achieving PPE production and distribution were required, and the utility of free and open-source hardware (FOSH) and 3D printing quickly became evident, particularly for low-income settings where the resources to compete globally to import PPE are usually limited.Following other global initiatives [3] and demonstrating the usefulness of this approach, FOSH designs were successfully used to locally produce face shields and masks using 3D printing and relatively accessible and inexpensive materials for distribution to communities around a Nigerian University during the second trimester of 2020.The fourth industrial revolution [4] has enabled AU : Anabbreviationlisthasbeencompiledforthoseuse digital designs to be seamlessly shared over the internet and replicated everywhere, and 3D printing has become an affordable and easily accessible tool for the fabrication of alternatives to rather expensive and inaccessible hardware.This production method is resistant to traditional supply chain problems, as the raw materials needed for 3D printing can be used for many different applications and stored in bulk over

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