The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the opacity of the global personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain. Dependence on international markets for medical PPE provision has left states vulnerable to price volatility and supply shortages. As the severity of the pandemic fluctuates amidst an ever-present risk of regional and global public health crises, medical PPE market volatility – exacerbated by the lack of accurate, up-to-date, transparent information of PPE international supply conditions – will continue to undermine effective policy responses and the resilience of healthcare systems around the world. This article proposes a WTO/WHO joint initiative to ensure PPE market supply transparency for future pandemic preparedness. It departs from an analysis of the global PPE market, the impact of COVID-19 on PPE production and supply, and the systemic lack of basic PPE supply chain information at all levels. From this, it identifies the need for PPE market supply transparency and thus proposes creating a PPE market supply transparency system at the domestic and/or international level as a viable solution to enhance transparency and cooperation in preparation for the next pandemic.

中文翻译：

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确保个人防护装备市场供应透明度：为未来的大流行做准备

COVID-19 大流行暴露了全球个人防护装备 (PPE) 供应链的不透明性。医疗 PPE 供应对国际市场的依赖使各州容易受到价格波动和供应短缺的影响。由于大流行的严重程度在区域和全球公共卫生危机的风险中不断波动，医疗 PPE 市场波动——由于缺乏准确、最新、透明的 PPE 国际供应状况信息而加剧——将继续破坏有效的政策反应和世界各地医疗保健系统的弹性。本文提出了一项 WTO/WHO 联合倡议，以确保 PPE 市场供应的透明度，以应对未来的大流行。它背离了对全球 PPE 市场、COVID-19 对 PPE 生产和供应的影响的分析，以及各级 PPE 供应链基本信息的系统性缺失。由此，它确定了 PPE 市场供应透明度的必要性，因此建议在国内和/或国际层面建立 PPE 市场供应透明度系统，作为提高透明度和合作为下一次大流行做准备的可行解决方案。