Availability and use of personal protective equipment in low- and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Salomé Henriette Paulette DrouardTashrik AhmedPablo Amor FernandezPrativa BaralMichael A PetersPeter HansenTawab HashemiIsidore SieleunouMunirat Iyabode OgunlayiAlain-Desire KaribwamiJulie Ruel BergeronEdwin Eduardo Montufar VelardeMohamed Lamine YansaneChea Sanford WessehCharles MwansamboCharles NzeluHelal UddinMahamadi TassembedoGil ShapiraPublished in: PloS one (2023)
After more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall availability of PPE remained low in our sample of low and middle-income countries. Although essential, the availability of PPE did not guarantee the proper use of the equipment. The lack of PPE availability and improper use of available PPE enable preventable COVID-19 transmission in health facilities, leading to greater morbidity and mortality and risking the continuity of service delivery by healthcare workers.