United in the fight for health: Businessmen and creators across BiH make protective equipment for medical professionals

Health workers are the first on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19. Due to their high exposure to the virus, it is necessary to have equipment reducing the risk of infection. Some of the equipment that can help reduce the risk is plastic visors, which can largely prevent the virus from reaching the face. The visor is one of the products that is relatively simple to manufacture with the help of a 3D printer, and is used to protect medical staff from drip infection. In addition, it can be disinfected and reused several times, with medical personnel wearing protective masks under the visor.

The initiative was launched in several parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) identified and linked the makers. In order to accelerate the production of protective equipment, additional work equipment was procured through the UNDP project “Economic Governance for Growth - EGG”, funded by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway. This equipment includes four new 3D printers, filaments and raw material for the production of protective equipment, as well as a machine for testing the mechanical properties of materials.

“The idea is to make protective equipment for everyone who needs it, until the market is full. We have started designing protective visors, and we can also work on laces for masks, as well as respirator blades, if the need arises,” says Adi Pandžić, senior assistant at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sarajevo.

Although it will primarily use the equipment to produce protective visors as part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, it will, after the crisis, equip the Norwegian Government's Polymeric Materials Testing Laboratory.

“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, few people are serious about polymers testing. We want to introduce subjects through which students will research polymers, and we will use the Lab for teaching, research, innovation and development. This is a very important step in the teaching process, because until now we have not had the opportunity to research polymers anymore, which is a very important part of the industry today,” says Pandžić.