Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, so many businesses and organizations have started to shift their focus to be able to better serve their community. From hockey equipment giant Bauer making PPE for frontline healthcare workers to breweries shifting to creating hand sanitizer. It’s one of the amazing ways that different communities have started to come together to make it through the next few months together.

For our part, Impact Network has a few projects in the works that we are excited to announce in the coming weeks! The first, a part of our Impact Health initiative, is creating masks for use by staff, students, and communities that are at risk in Zambia. Lweendo Maanya, our Head of Operations, has this week’s email! Thank you, Lweendo!

Here in Zambia, we have been watching the pandemic and the rising numbers in so many countries like the US. Our thoughts are with you and we hope that you all stay safe. As I write, the number of confirmed cases in Zambia is just over 100. The government is testing, doing contact tracing and sharing information with us daily.

In April, Impact Network delightedly engaged some local tailors to make over 10,000+ locally reusable face masks. It the first week, 1250 reusable face masks were created and we are going to be making 2,500 each week over the course of May! A plan on how to deliver these to local health facilities, our staff and our students is also on course. Things to know about the locally made reusable masks:

Efficacy

In order to significantly reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, it is important that the majority of the population wear masks. Looking at Zambia’s economic status, most of its citizens especially in the rural areas cannot afford to purchase surgical disposable masks, or the N95 respirator masks. Surgical masks are fluid resistant and able to filter bacteria more effectively than reusable masks made out of cloth or paper. While that is the case, reusable masks still serve as a form of basic protection. Masks made from cotton material provide between 50 and 60 % of efficiency. There is mounting evidence so far that a significant number of individuals who contract the virus may spread it before developing symptoms. Thicker, tightly woven fabric is more effective at creating a barrier than a thinner looser material. With that in mind, we chose the thickest available.

Benefits

The personal protective benefit of wearing a cloth mask may be low, the benefit to society at large is higher. You can protect those around you by wearing a mask and they will protect you if they also wear masks. When a person who may have the virus but does not know goes out in public wearing a mask, the chances of spreading the virus are reduced by 50%. When that person comes in contact with someone who may not be sick but wears a mask, the risk of transmission is also reduced by another 50%. Therefore, if everyone wears a mask in public settings where physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain like here in Zambia, it makes it more difficult for the virus to move from one person to another. These masks are cheap, fast and efficient to make, and can be made from locally available material, washed and reused many times. Wearing a mask also serves as a cue not to touch your mouth or nose where virus transmission can occur. Mask wearing must go hand in hand with physical distancing measures and good personal hygiene -- washing hands with soap and running water regularly or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

These are the messages and reminders we are sharing with our family, friends and neighbors.

Stay home, stay safe.

Lweendo Maanya

Stay Home, Stay Safe.