Question NW2934 to the President of the Republic

Reply:

At the beginning of the COVID-19 national state of disaster, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) with the support of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), established the National Ventilator Project (NVP) to draw on expertise and know-how in South Africa to develop ventilators for use on COVID-19 patients.

This was necessitated by a global shortage of all types of ventilators and it also fitted in well with the re-imagined industrial strategy, which is focused on finding opportunities to manufacture product locally.

The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), which houses a number of engineers who are working on the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project, was mandated to manage the national effort to design, develop and produce the respiratory ventilators to support the government’s response to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency was used because of the experience its engineers gained in the development of complex systems for the MeerKAT radio telescope system in the Karoo, the precursor to the SKA.

The project drew in many companies and public entities based in South Africa, from engineers, to automotive component manufacturers and production specialists.

Based on advice from clinicians, the project elected to focus in the initial phase on the production of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilators, which were identified as the ones most appropriate to support COVID-19 patients.

A total of 20,000 CPAP ventilators have now been produced in South Africa under the NVP. These ventilators have been produced by two locally licensed manufacturers, namely the state-owned Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the South African Ventilator Emergency Project (SAVE-P) – a consortium of companies.

Production began in late July 2020 and the final units were completed during the month of November 2020. The 20.000 units produced include the following:

• 18,000 Venturi-type CPAP devices manufactured through a contract with the CSIR; and
• 2,000 blender-type CPAP devices manufactured by SAVE-P.

The CSIR ventilator systems were assembled and packaged by Akacia Medical in the Western Cape. Individual components for the CPAP-ventilator were manufactured by a consortium of industry partners in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, including the Central University of Technology and firms such as Black Capital Systems, Andani Futuretech Manufacturing, UV Tooling, Sola Medical, Gabler Medical and Pitchline Engineering. All manufacturing was done for the CSIR.

The SAVE-P consortium incorporates manufacturers located in Cape Town, Pinetown, Durban, Midrand and Alberton, consisting of MCR Manufacturing, Reef Engineering, Bosch, Executive Engineering, Rhomberg Instruments, Dowclay Products, ISO Health SA, Pegasus Steel, NAACAM, AFRIT, Corruseal, New Age Medical Supplies, Aveti and Non-Ferrous Metal Works.

The development, production and procurement cost for the 20,000 units was funded through a R250 million donation from the Solidarity Fund.

On 24 August 2020, the Solidarity Fund handed over the first units to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. The project managers advised that units have already been distributed to 69 public healthcare facilities in each of the nine provinces. A list of those hospitals which have received CPAP devices are attached to this reply as Annexure A.

In addition to the 20,000 devices produced by CSIR and SAVE-P with funding support from the Solidarity Fund, a further 300 devices have been produced by Sabertek on a commercial basis. The project managers advise that 100 of these units have been purchased already, with some units exported to Malaysia and Namibia.

We are pleased that the combination of lockdown measures early in the pandemic, which flattened the curve of infection, and the National Ventilator Project enabled the health-care system to provide the necessary ventilation support when required. A longer-term legacy of the project is that there are now 20,000 more CPAP ventilators available for use than before the pandemic.

ANNEXURE A: List of public healthcare facilities which have received CPAP ventilators from the NVP

Province:	Facility name:
Eastern Cape	Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital
	Frere Hospital
	Livingstone Hospital
	Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital
	Cecilia Makiwane Hospital
	Frontier Hospital
	Dora Nginza Hospital
	Mthatha General Hospital
	St Elizabeth's Hospital
Free State	Universitas (C) Hospital
	Pelonomi Hospital
	Boitumelo Hospital
	Bongani Hospital
	Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Hospital
Gauteng	Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
	Pholosong Hospital
	Far East Rand Hospital
	Leratong Hospital
	Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
	Sebokeng Hospital
	Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital
	Dr George Mukhari Hospital
	Helen Joseph Hospital
	Tambo Memorial Hospital
	Steve Biko Academic Hospital
	Kalafong Hospital
	Tembisa Hospital
	Edenvale Hospital
	Rahima Moosa Hospital
	Mamelodi Hospital
	Qualihealth
KwaZulu-Natal	Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital
	King Edward VIII Hospital
	Ngwelezana Hospital
	Grey's Hospital
	Addington Hospital
	King Dinuzulu Hospital
	Mahatma Gandhi Hospital
	Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital
	RK Khan Hospital
	St Aidans Hospital
	Edendale Hospital
	Madadeni Hospital
	Newcastle Hospital
	Pixely Isaka ka Seme
	General Justice Gizenga Hospital
	Queen Nandi Regional Hospital
	Port Shepstone Hospital
	Ladysmith Hospital
Limpopo	Mankweng Hospital
	Pietersburg Hospital
	Letaba Hospital
	Philadelphia Hospital
	St Rita's Hospital
	Tshilidzini Hospital
	Mokopane Hospital
Mpumalanga	Rob Ferreira Hospital
	Witbank Hospital
	Mapulaneng Hospital
	Themba Hospital
	Ermelo Hospital
North West	Job Shimankana Tabane Hospital
	Klerksdorp-Tshepong Tertiary Hospital
	Mahikeng Provincial Hospital
	Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital
	Potchefstroom Hospital
Northern Cape	Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital
	Dr Harry Surtie Hospital
Western Cape	Groote Schuur Hospital