Ensuring Market Supply Transparency for Personal Protective Equipment: Preparing for Future Pandemics

The COVID‐19 pandemic has exposed the opacity of the global personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain. Dependence on international markets for medical PPE provision has left states vulnerable to price volatility and supply shortages. As the severity of the pandemic fluctuates amidst an ever‐p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global policy 2022-06, Vol.13 (3), p.401-411
Main Authors: Garcia‐Santaolalla, Nadia, de Klerk, Kyle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
COVID-19
Health care
International cooperation
Markets
Opacity
Pandemics
Personal protective equipment
Protective equipment
Public health
Safety equipment
Supply chains
System effectiveness
Transparency
Volatility
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Summary:The COVID‐19 pandemic has exposed the opacity of the global personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain. Dependence on international markets for medical PPE provision has left states vulnerable to price volatility and supply shortages. As the severity of the pandemic fluctuates amidst an ever‐present risk of regional and global public health crises, medical PPE market volatility – exacerbated by the lack of accurate, up‐to‐date, transparent information of PPE international supply conditions – will continue to undermine effective policy responses and the resilience of healthcare systems around the world. This article proposes a WTO/WHO joint initiative to ensure PPE market supply transparency for future pandemic preparedness. It departs from an analysis of the global PPE market, the impact of COVID‐19 on PPE production and supply, and the systemic lack of basic PPE supply chain information at all levels. From this, it identifies the need for PPE market supply transparency and thus proposes creating a PPE market supply transparency system at the domestic and/or international level as a viable solution to enhance transparency and cooperation in preparation for the next pandemic.
ISSN:1758-5880
1758-5899
DOI:10.1111/1758-5899.13103