Global Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment amid COVID-19: Supply Chains, Bottlenecks, and Policy Implications

This presentation discussed the unprecedented excess demand for PPEs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to domestic and international PPE supply chain disruptions and put frontline healthcare workers at risk. It also discussed various trade barriers to PPE supply, how governments ramped up PPE production, ADB's own response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as policy implications and lessons learned from path health crises.

Kijin Kim

Kijin KIM is Economist in the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank. Since he joined the ADB in 2017, he has been working on trade, trade facilitation, and trade finance within the context of regional cooperation and integration (RCI). He contributed to ADB’s publications on these areas including the Asian Economic Integration Report, Trade Finance Gaps, Growth, and Jobs Survey, and Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report.

Regional Conference on Navigating the New Normal in ASEAN Plus Three Economies

According to the International Monetary Fund, the world’s economic growth remains subdued as the growth in developing economies is weaker than expected. The sign of sluggish global growth continues to show due to several macroeconomic risks, for example, trade tensions, weak investment due to lack of investor confidence, abrupt shifts in risk sentiment, disinflationary pressure, and deeper than envisaged economic slowdown in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Eurozone. Taking into account these factors, the global economy is moving towards a new normal.