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About PPE Needed

July 2020 marks the official global launch of PPE Needed (www.ppeneeded.com), a non-profit supply and demand platform focussed on matching available protective equipment of individuals and companies to shortages of frontline workers in countries affected by COVID-19. What started as a Dutch grassroots platform fighting local face mask shortages, quickly turned into a centralized platform for The Netherlands.

Humberto Tan, Rachid Kbiri, Dunya Ressang & Omar Kbiri with his daughter (left to right)
VIDEO – NPO Radio 1: Humberto Tan interviews Omar Kbiri
Humberto Tan, Rachid Kbiri, Dunya Ressang & Omar Kbiri with his daughter (left to right)

The platform was founded by Dunya Ressang, Omar Kbiri and Rachid Kbiri. What strikes PPE Needed aside from other global PPE initiatives is their filled, visual world map and a free to use platform.

Supporting Our Corona Warriors

Before becoming PPE Needed, the organization started as a Dutch platform called Mondkapjes Nodig (www.mondkapjesnodig.nl), thanks to support from the Red Cross. With their help, more than 400,000 masks were delivered in a matter of weeks to those fighting the pandemic in the Netherlands, relieving the national coordination efforts. After initial support of the Red Cross, the platform is now backed by tech giant Amazon to obtain a global overview of all equipment shortages during the Covid-19 crisis.

How It Works

PPE Needed aims to fight the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in countries affected by the current coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Through the platform on their website, organizations and individuals can either donate their surplus to frontline workers or offer their services to produce PPE. This way, much-needed materials are redistributed to those who need it most. The platform, then, effectively functions as a central point for people and companies willing to help – and it’s easy to use, as demonstrated in the video below.

PPE Needed – How to Use The Platform

Goals

The main goals of PPE Needed are to provide an overview of the global shortage of personal protective equipment, and to enable local matching of supply and shortage of personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 crisis. PPE Needed’s platform enables the elimination of third parties, which saves valuable costs and time for everyone involved. The organization is currently focusing their attention on countries which are currently hard hit, such as the US, Brazil and India.

Adapting The Platform Accordingly

The WHO and individual countries still report shortages on (inter)national levels, despite the efforts of their own emergency supply chains and crisis teams. This platform fills the gap between available surplus and these shortages reported by frontline workers to support these coordinated efforts and give visibility for smaller and more local organizations in need.

“The idea behind our concept is to map the lack of vital equipment available to frontline health workers for the public to see. In doing so, we see that it becomes easier for communities to support their local health workers. As the crisis evolves, we are ready to adapt our platform accordingly to how health workers can be helped best. The response in The Netherlands has been incredible and we hope that we can recreate this success on a global scale with the launch of PPENeeded.com.”

Dunya Ressang, co-founder of the platform:

Team and Partners

The platform PPENeeded.com was recently backed by Amazon. The tech giant provides technical support through AWS to ensure the website can process high volumes of data and interaction.

“We are lucky to have such a strong partner like Amazon providing us with technical support. They understand like no other how you can effectively build and maintain an online environment with a vast number of users. Thanks to their support, we are able to roll out a platform that has the potential of helping frontline workers on a global scale. Together, we can combat PPE shortage and ensure essential equipment gets to those heroes who need it most.”

Co-founder Rachid Kbiri on the newly gained support

The platform is entering a new phase and PPE Needed is still looking for funding, partnerships, and support to reach every country. They partner with similar initiatives such as Maker vs Virus, PPE Dashboard, RRP Canada, UK Mask Force, and OSMS, just to name a few, and are actively pursuing more. The Dutch companies Maak Amsterdam and Just took care of the development of the platform free of charge and act as advising companies.

Accomplishments

Right now, PPE Needed has over 2000 live markers on our map, and thanks to ongoing conversations, we have thousands more we will upload soon. This is beside the markers we receive organically through marketing.

The Malawi Project A joint collaboration between PPE Needed and DonatePPE.org
VIDEO – NPO Radio 1: Humberto Tan interviews Omar Kbiri
The Malawi Project – A joint collaboration between PPE Needed & DonatePPE.org

PPE Needed collaborated with DonetePPE.org in the USA and funneled face masks to a small prenatal care hospital in Chitipa, Malawi. The initiative operated completely independently and was a non-profit project. This project was independent and had no involvement from any ongoing national initiatives.

So far, PPE Needed has had no financial support and is completely driven by volunteers. To support this platform, you can donate at their Go Fund Me page: https://gf.me/u/x9mg5u.

Mentions

Here are a few mention on Dutch and international media and publications.

NPO Radio 1: Humberto Tan interviews Omar Kbiri

Mondkapjes Nodig Mentions

PPE Needed Mentions

Press Contact : marketing@ppeneeded.com

Please get in touch if you have any enquiries and we’ll be happy to help.