Nonthaburi, 9 March 2021 – The Healthcare Accreditation Institute of Thailand (Public Organization), GIZ Thailand and B. Braun (Thailand) Ltd. today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the project “Upscaling Sanitizer Production in Thailand and Promoting Hand Hygiene” in response to the COVID-19 situation in Thailand at Richmond Stylish Convention Hotel, Nonthaburi.
The collaboration of the 3 partners aims to improve the COVID-19 prevention capacity of healthcare personnel at 50 selected healthcare facilities in high-risk zones as well as among low-income farmer groups in rural farming communities in Thailand through the promotion of hand hygiene practices and the provision of standardized hand sanitizing products.
“The new wave of COVID-19 is hitting us harder than the first wave. The number of COVID-19 infections has risen significantly and in some red zones like Samut Sakhon, healthcare professionals working to combat the coronavirus outbreak on the frontline are at risk if the proper protection is not available. Disinfecting materials such as hand sanitizer are very much needed to prevent COVID-19 infection in healthcare facility settings as evidenced by the increase in demand during the first wave. We are thankful that the German Government and B. Braun (Thailand) Ltd. will support the preventive capacity of those healthcare professionals in COVID-19 high-risk areas by providing standardized alcohol-based hand sanitizers and personal protective equipment. In addition to the provision of necessary materials, HAI will also support the COVID-19 preventive capacity for healthcare professionals and village health volunteers through the development of e-leaning materials to update knowledge of hand hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment for COVID-19 prevention. HAI will also encourage healthcare professionals to use the e-learning application developed by the project.” said Dr. Kittinan Anakamanee MD., CEO of the Healthcare Accreditation Institute of Thailand (Public Organization) – HAI
Mr. Jan Scheer, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Affairs, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany added: “No one can deny that the coronavirus has greatly affected every country and indeed everyone in the world. We have seen the rise in demand for special assistance to combat the outbreak of the disease worldwide. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) fosters the involvement of private sector initiatives through its DeveloPPP.de COVID-19 Response scheme that is designed to mitigate the economic as well as the health-related impacts of the coronavirus in developing and emerging countries. We are aware that healthcare workers are the most vulnerable group as they are exposed to coronavirus from patients and disinfecting materials are thus crucial for their protection. GIZ and B. Braun (Thailand) Ltd. are therefore scaling up their initiative for hand sanitizer production and promoting hand hygiene among healthcare workers in Thailand. The project also supports low-income groups in farming communities to access good quality hand sanitizers as well as important knowledge about hand hygiene and coronavirus prevention. Furthermore, an investment of 123,750 liters of WHO recommended quality of alcohol-based hand sanitizers has been made and the products will be donated to hospitals in COVID-19 high-risk areas.”
Mr. Sayan Roy, Managing Director of B. Braun (Thailand) Ltd. said: “As the pandemic continues all over the world, including Thailand there is always uncertainty on the standards in the alcohol hand sanitizers to fight against COVID-19. Using the right product at the right moment with the right technique is essential in ensuring good practices in hand hygiene. Our aim is to support the communities and the Healthcare workers by providing with our quality product; SOFTA-GEL alcohol hand rub which has been tested as global testing standards – EN14476 efficacy against enveloped virus which includes Coronavirus, EN1500 recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) and EN1276 with Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health recommendation. With support from the funds, we also will invest in additional capacity to ensure steady supplies of hand sanitizers to people in Thailand. Moreover, proper hand-rub is an important factor to start effective prevention and we will work closely with HAI to share our global expertise in the field of infection prevention by co-developing e-learning material for communities and healthcare workers and thereby supporting people to learn the right way to use alcohol hand rub. This affirms our continued commitment towards our vision “to protect and improve the health of people around the world.” to get through this pandemic situation together.”
The MoU signing event is the kickoff event for the implementation of the project “Upscaling Sanitizer Production in Thailand and Promoting Hand Hygiene” which comprises 3 approaches; investment in the manufacture of 123,750 liters of alcohol-based hand sanitizers; development of e-learning modules and donation of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The project will benefit up to 50 hospitals in COVID-19 high-risk and vulnerable provinces and around 15,000 low-income farmer households in rural areas in Thailand. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).