Researchers at the UAE’s Khalifa University are taking steps to meet the growing global demand for emergency ventilators due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
They have developed a prototype of the machine and are now engineering a production facility in Abu Dhabi to roll them out on a wider scale.
A team from the university’s Healthcare Engineering Innovation Centre (HEIC) are developing the ventilators.
They are focusing on low-cost, rapid production using 3D printing and easily accessible materials.
Within the next two weeks, the team aims to have the plan for the production plant finalised and the first units ready to support the UAE’s fight against the virus.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), around 80 per cent of infected people recover without needing hospital treatment, but one person in six becomes seriously ill and can develop pneumonia, which may require ventilator treatment.
As the pandemic continues, thousands of ventilators are needed around the world, and developing them quickly has the potential to save lives.
The UAE's President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has reiterated commitment to backing all efforts aimed at reaching a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and continuing initiatives to ease its humanitarian impact.
The UAE has pledged an additional $200 million (AED734 million) in humanitarian funding to Sudan, taking the overall total to $3.5 billion. The announcement was made at the High-Level Humanitarian Conference for the People of Sudan, in Addis Ababa.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Denis Manturov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the attack that set fire to a convoy of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), near Beirut Airport, which led to the injury of a member of the international force.