The Thinker (Jun 2020)
Reviving Decommissioned Ventilators How a Circular Economy Approach Can Assist in Tackling the South African Shortage of Ventilators during Covid-19
Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest disease burden in human and economic costs, but commands less than one percent of global health expenditure (Aikins et al., 2010). Strong health systems are fundamental to maintaining good health. Difficult geography, a severe shortage of trained medical personnel, poor infrastructure, a lack of critical care equipment and accompanying technical skills make it difficult to deliver the healthcare services people in Africa need to achieve good health. These weaknesses in the healthcare system have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. Equitable and efficient healthcare provision requires properly balanced and managed resource inputs. There is a strong argument to be made for circular business models to optimise healthcare technology management strategies, to eliminate medical e-waste, and to establish a new, open niche market in Africa.
