Digital Social Innovation in the production of face shields for healthcare personnel caring for patients with Covid-19 in Honduras.
The members of the CAHI Fellows Network work actively at different levels of emergency care related to COVID-19, constantly exchange information and generate initiatives that validate good practices in their contexts, which can be replicated in the region. This text addresses one of them.
Technological development is producing changes in all areas of life. What is known as the industrial revolution and technological era, has transformed the conception of forms of communication, business models and methodologies for the transformation of organizations and their social impact.
The transformation process being generated by digital and technological progress seems to continue to accelerate. They are exponential to the extent that their impact and scope are amplified, their costs are reduced and they drive rapid changes in the economic and social spheres.
These processes are occurring not only in the commercial sphere, but are also being generated in the area of social development, and even in the face of crisis or emergency situations. As new technologies become more accessible, the creative possibilities for applications that generate social value are multiplying.
This is the case of the Honduran national movement Güiran ( which in the indigenous Lenca language means village), which grew out of the work of volunteers with 3D printers in their homes, who began the production of low-cost face shields to support health professionals.
What began as a modest citizen initiative has become a chain of interactions and collaborations that mobilizes almost 300 people throughout the country in different tasks.
This is not only an example of the application of exponential technologies in the face of a health emergency, generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a model of social innovation processes, with the collaboration of various social sectors.
It all started with the individual initiative
The need became evident, through social networks (FB and TW mainly) and instant messaging services (WhatsApp), messages warning of the coronavirus multiplied.
In Honduras, as in other Central American nations, one of the concerns revolved around the availability of the minimum protective equipment for health care workers to attend to infected patients: face shield, gloves and uniforms.
Through digital media, individuals with 3D printers began to offer their help in producing the face shields.
These were the first steps in a process that would later generate the articulation of other actors. From individuals communicating through social networks and instant messaging, small groups began to coordinate with each other to serve different areas of the city or the country. Then other volunteers appeared, to supply the necessary inputs (raw materials) to the producers, who would later take charge of assembly and distribution.
Various stakeholders and sectors joined
The organic evolution of this process led to greater coordination and the entry of new players who, coming from different sectors, added value and gave a boost to the production of facial protectors.
This is how different NGOs began to participate, to give legal form to the collaboration and offer an institutional platform. Organizations such as Guala (name that in Lenca means hand), dedicated to the production of hand and forearm prosthesis through 3D printing, joined the collaboration with other social actors for the organization and formal interaction with other institutions that quickly lent their collaboration. This step has also been key in raising funds through private and individual donations.
According to Elena Aguilera Murillo, CAHI Fellow, biomedical engineer and co-founder of Guala and who is working as a volunteer for Güiran in charge of logistics in the south central zone of San Pedro Sula, this movement "was generated spontaneously, organically and quickly; today we are almost 300 volunteers, many of us have not seen each other's faces, but we coordinate through chat, voice notes and social networks."
Subsequently, UNITEC, a university with campuses in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, joined the project. This institution has been the platform for the management of safeguards with the Ministry of Health and has provided spaces as collection centers for in-kind donations and for the assembly and operation of the assembly and disinfection lines for the face shields.
Health professionals, mainly biomedical and medical volunteers, have technically certified the design, raw material selection and production processes to comply with international standards and to be safe for use in health centers, in accordance with current needs and WHO protocols.
The National Armed Forces have also entered the chain, providing cooperation in the transportation of raw materials between cities, in addition to making their industrial manufacturing workshops available.
Through the voluntary work of all the actors involved, with a high proportion of citizen participation, more than 500 face shields are being distributed in 15-day periods.
Elena states that "an emergency brings out the best and the worst, and in this case it has brought out the best, because we are taking advantage of the tools we have, demonstrating that we can indeed work collaboratively remotely, with a highly professional volunteer effort".
Future development and sustainability
As this initiative progresses, those involved in it are beginning to envision next steps and look for ways to make it sustainable.
An important element is to continue improving production processes and information exchange, which is possible thanks to the technologies in use and because there is a team thinking exponentially.
The generation of other devices and implements is envisaged, such as isolation hoods to be used in hospitals and health centers, and in the medium term, mechanical respirators. Other requirements and technological application possibilities will arise along the way.
For the future production of respirators, UNITEC will provide technical support in the processes of prototype development, analysis and verification of its operation within the biomedical laboratories. This generates a research process in which the faculties of engineering and health sciences collaborate.
The operation is currently financed by donations from individuals, support from small and medium-sized enterprises, and the voluntary work of hundreds of people. In the future, it is expected to mobilize resources from the government, international cooperation agencies and the private sector.
One of the keys will be the creation of a model that will allow us to continue producing and distributing on a large scale and at low costs, generating a return on investment to sustain the initiative not only during the coming months of emergency in the face of Covid-19, but also in the years to come.
Social Innovation and Exponential Technologies
The Güiran movement is an example of how exponential technologies increase the social impact of an organized initiative that seeks to solve a collective problem, in this case associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. It also shows us the dynamics of social innovation in the coordination of the organization of various sectors, with creativity and adaptability.
Elena Aguilera Murillo tells us that technology "has played a fundamental role, because without technological platforms we would not have been able to move forward so quickly and so effectively. Our databases, application notes, donation minutes, communications, all meetings, everything is handled virtually."
Some of its essential characteristics are:
It should be noted that in the case of the NGO Guala, although it remains in its field of action (Biomedical Engineering), it has had to generate internal changes and open spaces to produce a necessary good that was not previously part of its offer. This transformation has allowed its team to learn new ways of organization and communication, and to streamline its production dynamics.
Likewise, work networks have been strengthened and the country now has a medium-scale production capacity for medical devices and implements, which can grow if the sustainability of this citizen initiative is boosted.
