UWI AGAINST COVID-19

Join UWI Against COVID-19

Staff and students of The UWI St. Augustine Campus across several disciplines in their personal and professional capacities have been joining the fight to stem the spread of COVID-19. Now, we call upon companies and the general public to join us in a special initiative to locally manufacture medical equipment to protect the public, as well as health workers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Projects in Progress
Campus Principal, Professor Brian Copeland challenged a team of engineers from the Faculty of Engineering to come up with a way to produce items in short supply internationally starting with the following:

1. Face shields, n95 face masks for medical personnel, and face masks for citizens.
2. UWI-Vent, a ventilator system to assist those with acute respiratory distress syndrome CARDS).
3. Volume Manufacturing of the above items.

How You Can Help
Since initial work began in mid-March 2020, this project has received support from the Ministry of Health, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA), CARIRI, local manufacturers, and companies such as Label House, Advanced Foam, Ace Printery, Lensyl Products, Daisy's Exclusive, TYE Manufacturing, MIC, Peake Technologies Ltd., Thermoplas, Electrosign Ltd. and V&S Pharmaceuticals. However, there is much more to be done!

Collaborate
We need materials for face masks and respirators and mechanical and industrial components for ventilators as well other in-kind resources, and appropriate connections in the fields of procurement and manufacturing. In particular, there is urgent need for the following resources to propel this work forward:

1. Plastics, foam, elastic for making face shields for medical doctors. We are also looking for manufacturers interested in producing face shields for supply to the Ministry of Health. In the first instance, the team is putting together 20 Protect-A-Doctor Kits. These kits will provide added protection for doctors during intubation procedure where the risk of infection is extremely high due to the aerosolization of the virus. Each kit consists of 1 Plexiglass aerosolization shield, 1 Industrial endoscope with screen and 3, 3D printed laryngoscope blades (different sizes). The cost of the kit is TT$2,000.
2. Textiles for face masks and garment manufacturers with capacity to produce masks for supply to the general public.
3. Funding sponsorship to help manufacturers cover the cost of production to supply to hospitals and other essential workers.
4. Assistance in sourcing industrial components such as valves, sensors etc. for ventilators.
5. Funding of equipment for testing respirators and face masks.

 

UWI Staff Member wearing UWI Branded Mask

 

Donate
Make a financial contribution to the initiative. Funds will go toward the areas identified above, inclusive of the provision of Protect-A-Doctor Kits and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), as well as the material for face masks, respirators and mechanical and industrial components for ventilators.

Donate Online
Access The UWI's TouchNet online portal here. 

 

Local Deposits

Republic Bank Limited, UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad
Swift Address: RBNKTTPX
Account#: 160 284 614 001
Account Name: The University of the West Indies
Reason for Payment: UWI Medical Manufacture

International Deposits
Intermediary Bank:
FW 026 009 593
Bank of America
100 West 33rd Street
New York
New York 10001
USA

Swift Address: BOFAUA3N

Account with: 
Republic Bank Limited
Forex
59 Independence Square
Port-of-Spain
Trinidad
Account # 65503 52163

 

Swift Address: RBNKTTPX

Beneficiary Customer:
The University of the West Indies
St Augustine
Trinidad and Tobago
Account # 0002/110/10635
UWI Campus Branch

 

Stay Connected

For more examples of how The UWI community has been stepping up to fight the global pandemic, look for special coverage in The UWI Today and follow developments on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #UWIAgainstCOVID19.