Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal on Wednesday announced that the authority will now procure the personal protective equipment (PPE) kits from the domestic market.

According to a press release, the decision was taken in principle to support the domestic industry.

NDMA chairman has directed the procurement committee to purchase all kinds of precautionary kits from the local manufacturers except where the required quality/quantity is unavailable.

He was informed that all types of protection equipment, except N-95 face masks, were being produced locally. Gen Afzal said manufacturers who intend to produce N-95 masks will be supported.

According to him, domestic production of N-95 masks will start by the end of this month.

He, however, stressed on ensuring the quality of the protective gear since it will be supplied to the health officials fighting the pandemic.

“From now on, only those products which are unavailable in the local market will be imported,” he said.

Meanwhile, NDMA has provided medical equipment including PPEs to its provincial arms in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative units in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K).