Local Production Capacity Research Articles

Analisis Kebijakan Penerapan Tingkat Komponen Dalam Negeri (TKDN) dalam Pengadaan Barang dan Jasa di Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi: Studi Kasus di Biro Umum dan Pengadaan

This research aims to describe and analyze the application of the Domestic Component Level (TKDN) in the procurement of government goods and services at the General Bureau and Procurement of Goods and Services of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology as well as determine the level of success and find a model for implementing the Domestic Component Level (TKDN) policy in the procurement of government goods and services at the General Bureau and Procurement of Goods and Services of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and TechnologyThe research method used is a descriptive analytical method with a qualitative approach. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with relevant officials, document analysis, and direct observation of the goods and services procurement process. This research identified several main challenges in implementing TKDN, including limited local production capacity, quality of domestic products, and understanding and compliance with TKDN regulations by procurement actors. The research results show that although the TKDN policy has great potential to encourage local industry, its implementation still faces various obstacles. Efforts are needed to increase the capacity and quality of domestic products, as well as more intensive outreach and training for procurement actors. This research recommends increasing coordination between government and industry, as well as regular evaluation of TKDN policies to ensure their effectiveness in supporting national economic development.

Advancing Vaccinology Capacity: Education and Efforts in Vaccine Development and Manufacturing across Africa.

Africa, home to the world's second-largest population of approximately 1.3 billion, grapples with significant challenges in meeting its medical needs, particularly in accessing quality healthcare services and products. The continent faces a continuous onslaught of emerging infectious diseases, exacerbating the strain on its already fragile public health infrastructure. The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the urgency to build local vaccine production capacity and strengthen the health infrastructure in general. The risks associated with a heavy reliance on imported vaccines were exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating the need to nurture and strengthen the local manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutic biologics. Various initiatives addressing training, manufacturing, and regulatory affairs are underway, and these require increasing dedicated and purposeful financial investment. Building vaccine manufacturing capacity requires substantial investment in training and infrastructure. This manuscript examines the current state of education in vaccinology and related sciences in Africa. It also provides an overview of the continent's efforts to address educational needs in vaccine development and manufacturing. Additionally, it evaluates the initiatives aimed at strengthening vaccine education and literacy, highlighting successful approaches and ongoing challenges. By assessing the progress made and identifying the remaining obstacles, this review offers insights into how Africa can enhance its vaccine manufacturing capacity to respond to vaccine-preventable disease challenges.

Influence of air flow features on alpine wind energy potential

Wind energy is one of the potential options to fill the gap in renewable energy production in Switzerland during the winter season when the energy demand exceeds local production capacities. With likely further rising energy consumption in the future, the winter energy deficit may further increase. However, a reliable assessment of wind energy potential in complex terrain remains challenging. To obtain such information, numerical simulations are performed using a combination of the “Consortium for Small-scale Modeling” and “Weather Research and Forecasting” (COSMO-WRF) models initialized and driven by COSMO-1E model, which allows us to simulate the influence of topography at a horizontal resolution of 300 m. Two LiDAR measurement campaigns were conducted in the regions of Lukmanier Pass and Les Diablerets, Switzerland. Observational LiDAR data and measurements from nearby wind sensor networks are used to validate the COSMO-WRF simulations. The simulations show an improved representation of wind speed and direction near the ground compared to COSMO-1E. However, with increasing height and less effect of the terrain, COSMO-WRF tends to overestimate the wind speeds, following the bias that is already present in COSMO-1E. We investigate two characteristic mountain–terrain flow features, namely waves and Foehn. The effect of mountain-induced waves of the flow is investigated through an event that occurred in the area of Diablerets. One-year analysis for the frequency of conditions that are favorable for mountain wave formation is estimated. The Foehn impact on wind was observed in the Lukmanier domain. We attempt quantification of the probability of occurrence using the Foehnix model. The result shows a high probability of Foehn occurrence during the winter and early spring seasons. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating complex terrain-related meteorological events into the wind energy assessment. Furthermore, for an accurate assessment of wind speed in complex terrain, our study suggests the necessity to have a better representation of the topography compared to COSMO-1E.

Sustainable Silk roads future: Examining the nexus of inflation, regional integration, globalization and sustainability in BRI economies

This study investigates inflation's influence on sustainability by taking regional integration and globalization index as moderating variables. The inflation rate is an important indicator to measure economic performance and evaluate any country's sustainability goals. Globalization and regional integration are important due to connectedness among regions and countries. This study analyzed data collected from 64 Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) countries from 2005 to 2020 using the two-step system Generalized Method of Moments method and the robustness tests for the validation. The results suggested that the inflation rate negatively impacts sustainability. BRI countries need to control the inflation rate to attain sustainability goals. However, the robust impact of the globalization index on the relationship between the inflation rate and sustainability is positive and the moderating impact of regional integration is also significantly positive on the connection between the inflation rate and sustainability. The globalization index and regional integration index have a positive impact because the global world is connected, and every country designs economic policies based on global data that is available to them. Countries are investing to enhance local manufacturing and production capacities and economic teams make decisions accordingly. Inflation rates can be managed, and sustainability can be attained by taking benefit from the concepts of globalization index and sustainability. Due to these phenomena, countries import cheap raw materials, clean and renewable technologies, and cheap goods and services from other countries to manage the supply-demand and control the inflation rate, ultimately resulting in sustainability.

Equitable Vaccine Access in Light of COVID-19 Vaccine Procurement Strategies in Africa

(1) Background: This study addresses two weaknesses in current international efforts to prevent and prepare for the next pandemic: the lack of robust evidence supporting global policy measures and the corresponding extent to which those measures advance equity. (2) Methods: Using UNICEF’s publicly available but underused COVID-19 Market Dashboard database, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of vaccine deliveries as of mid-2022 and vaccine procurement strategies used by African low- and lower middle-income countries (LMICs) over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. (3) Results: Pooled procurement of the kind typified by COVAX (a clearinghouse for high-income-country contributions of vaccines and financing toward the end of equitable LMIC procurement) crowded out alternative strategies that must be supported in future: regional procurement, donation, and bilateral procurement (binding agreement between two parties: one seller (i.e., a national government or a vaccine manufacturer) and one recipient (i.e., national government)), which showed a significant relationship with technology transfer and advancing local production capacity. (4) Conclusions: Expanding the scope of vaccine procurement alternatives to COVAX such as regional pooled procurement and bilateral procurement can stratify risk of supply agreements not materializing in actual supply. Sharing the technology necessary to produce vaccines with LMICs can mitigate obstacles to bilateral procurement. A pooled purchase alliance to procure vaccine doses on behalf of participating countries within a given region can benefit LMICs by accounting for infrastructure limitations that these countries share. Finally, donations bolster global redistributed supply essential to LMICs.

Towards the Next Pandemic–What Have We Learned? Insights of a Large Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction:The first cases of COVID-19 arrived in Israel in March 2020. In Israel, the first known cases were Israeli patients diagnosed with COVID-19 aboard the Diamond Princess which were repatriated.Shortly later, additional cases were found in increasing numbers constituting the "first wave". The high number of patients put significant strain on Israeli hospitals. The initial wave was later followed by additional surges in the number of patients further straining the system. At the peak, hospitals with a total bed capacity of 800 had 135 covid-19 patients with 21 of them requiring ventilatory support.Method:Daily and weekly multidisciplinary meetings were held and daily reports were composed. Following each wave, lessons learned and recommendations for improved preparedness were formulated. The following results and conclusion sections summarize some of the main insights and recommendations.Results:The main challenges in Beilinson hospital during the "first wave" were a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and how to best utilize the existing supplies, uncertainty regarding infectiveness, best management practices and uncertainty regarding the expected magnitude and duration of the pandemic. In retrospect, the major insights were the need for a flexible and divisible ED to safely care for changing loads of suspected and verified COVID-19 patients as well as COVID-19 negative patients. Increasing the in-hospital stockpile of PPE as well as the regional and national stockpile and creating local production capacities. The importance of the daily multidisciplinary managerial meeting was to improve situational awareness and allow improved decision making. Staff briefing occurred on a daily basis and during times of high uncertainty at the beginning of every shift.Conclusion:Performing structured and frequent debriefing and analysis to achieve clinical and operational insights is crucial for improved short-term performance as well as improving preparedness for future challenges.

LEGAL PROVISIONS OF THE INVESTMENT CONTRACT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OIL REFINERIES

The contract for private investment in the establishment of refineries for crude oil refining is one of the essential contracts in light of the development taking place in the transformational oil industries. It is considered one of the basic pillars of the countries hosting investment, which prompted most countries to issue legislation to attract investment in the establishment of refineries and organize its procedures. In Iraq, Law No. 64 of the year was issued 2007 amended to give a large space for investing companies in attracting foreign and national investments and in granting the private sector the establishment and ownership of projects for refining and refining crude oil and all procedures emanating from its investment. Therefore, Iraq tended to offer several refineries for investment in several governorates to increase local production capacities, improve quality and achieve flexibility Addressing shortages and bottlenecks in refineries by providing an appropriate legislative environment to regulate this type of investment.

The impact of the increase in import verification fees on local production capacity of selected medicines in Uganda

BackgroundThe local manufacture of pharmaceuticals is an opportunity to develop a broader manufacturing and knowledge-based economy and reduce over dependence on imports. To promote local production, the Ugandan government introduced Buy Uganda Build Uganda policy geared towards promoting use of locally manufactured goods. It also increased import verification fees in 2017 for 37 selected locally manufactured essential medicines from 2 to 12% to discourage importation of these medicines. This study assessed the impact of the increase in verification fees on local production capacity of the medicines.MethodsThis was a mixed methods study looking at production capacity before and after introduction of the 12% import verification fees. It was conducted among six (6) local pharmaceutical industries in Uganda and seven (7) key informant interviews with experts in the pharmaceutical sector between February and September 2021.ResultsThe overall increase in local production capacity of the selected medicines was 8.2% from 2017 to 2020. The most significant increases were in the production of capsules (100.6%, P = 0.03) and oral liquids (170.8%, P = 0.0001). All the industries registered an increase in number of employees between 2017 and 2020 with an average percentage increase of 42%. There was a 14.7% (95% CI 2.76–17.6%) change in installed capacity of the compression machine (P = 0.033) and 27.7% (95% CI 24.6–33.9%) change in installed capacity of the Blow–Fill–Seal (BFS) filling machines (P = 0.011). There was also an increase in the number and capacity of installed utilities such as the heating ventilation and air conditioning (968%) and standby generators (131%). Only two (2) industries registered an increase in critical quality control equipment and one had all the critical equipment available by 2020. Most of the key informants reported positive impact of the increment of import verification on local manufacturing capacity.ConclusionsLocal pharmaceutical production capacity increased with the increase in import verification fees with significant increases in production of oral liquids and capsules. Successful implementation of policies supporting local production will promote the development of local pharmaceutical industries. Governments should consider increasing the list of medicines to benefit from the import verification fees increase by adding all essential generic medicines for which there is adequate domestic production capacity and technical skills.

Assessing transportation infrastructure impacts from supply chain restructuring for increased domestic production of critical resources

Contrary to past sentiment for globalization in manufacturing and production, the United States (U.S.) and other nations have shown a strong desire for increased domestic manufacturing and production, especially of critical products. While the benefits are many and include increased national security, increased local jobs, greater earnings and improved economies, the costs to support expanded local or regional production capacity may be nontrivial and extend beyond capital investments. That is, there are social costs for a region and nation that should also be considered. This paper proposes an analytical framework and related mathematical procedures for assessing the impacts of supply chain restructuring and domestic capacity expansion needed for increased domestic manufacturing and production on the operation and maintenance of a nation’s roadways. The impacts are given in terms of added traffic congestion, roadway maintenance costs, fuel consumption, emissions and traffic incidents as a function of estimated added domestic truck loads and truck miles required for expanding domestic production capacity. The framework exploits concepts from the mathematical formulation of multi-commodity, multi-echelon, fixed-charge facility location problems. It was applied in a case study involving increased N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) domestic production within the U.S. This application predicts notable impacts due to an increase in U.S.-based N95 FFR production, with sizable impacts stemming from local raw materials and middle products transportation needed to support increased domestic production. Thus, the case study shows the importance of considering the impacts of increased domestic manufacturing and production on infrastructure and the need for the proposed framework and methodologies. The analytical framework has broad utility and can also be used to compare facility siting proposals, as well as localization and regionalization strategies.

Patents and Sustainable Medical Treatment in Developing Countries: Lessons from COVID-19 Vaccines

COVID-19 has had devastating effects worldwide, and vaccines have become the most efficient solution to address the current pandemic situation thus far. After COVID-19 vaccines had been developed, discussions of the various countries’ equality of access gained traction, with patents and pricing forming a significant part of this discourse. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of patents and prices on the accessibility of COVID-19 vaccines in the developing world, using semi-structured interviews with subject-matter experts in this area of focus. Our analysis of these interviews highlights the fact that patents and prices are not the major barriers to accessibility for medical treatments, both generally and specifically in terms of COVID-19; rather, these barriers relate to the lack of local production capacity, technology transfer, infrastructure, local regulations, and supply-chain competencies. These results suggest that rather than focusing on patents and prices, governments should invest more time in improving technology transfer and using compulsory licenses as a negotiation tool. Moreover, the results show that the pricing strategies applied by companies could have different impacts on access, as could accessibility programs such as COVAX.

Развитие мелкотоварного животноводства в институциональном контуре обеспечения продовольственной безопасности

The article is devoted to the problems of development of the agricultural sector of the economy, characterized by small-scale livestock farming. The study of this sector shows not only its importance for the agro-industrial complex, but also for the development of small business. Small-scale livestock farming remains a significant element in the food security system. The reduction of agri-food chains, as shown by the lockdown caused by the 2020 coronavirus crisis, is a significant threat to the country’s food security. Logistics restrictions, coupled with the underdevelopment of local food production capacities, have led to the emergence of imbalances in the field of food security. The authors identified an imbalance in the structure of consumption of meat and meat products by the population. The current importance of the small-scale livestock sector for ensuring the country's food security has been determined. Measures for the development of the sector of the economy under consideration are proposed by realizing the potential of the sphere of technological development.

Sustainable energy technologies for the Global South: challenges and solutions toward achieving SDG 7

Decentralization of energy generation to minimize energy distribution costs and maximize local energy production capacity.

Site classification for Eucalyptus sp. in a tropical region of Brazil.

The aim was to determine the productive capacity of a forest site by applying different methods of fitting, combined with geostatistical techniques, to stands of Eucalyptus sp. in a tropical region of Brazil. Data were collected from 845 plots of a continuous forest inventory over four years. The classification of local production capacity was performed using growth curves obtained by the guide curve (GC) method, algebraic difference approach (ADA) and generalized algebraic difference approach (GADA) methods and ordinary kriging through the spherical, exponential, and Gaussian models to determine the spatial dependence of the variables site, geographical boundaries of site index classes, and their respective areas for each hectare in an annual production unit (APU). The modified Chapman-Richards model, fitted by the generalized difference approach method (GADA), provided the best statistical results, an improvement of 12.23% and 39.80% on the ADA and GC methods, respectively. The exponential model selected to express the spatial distribution of dominant height showed a high degree of spatial dependence.

АГРОВИРОБНИЦТВО ТА ПРОДОВОЛЬЧА БЕЗПЕКА ЯК ФАКТОР ЗМІН АРХІТЕКТУРНИХ ОБ’ЄКТІВ ТА УРБАНІЗОВАНИХ ТЕРИТОРІЙ У ДРУГІЙ ПОЛОВИНІ ХХІ СТ.

Food security is the of the most important basic human needs. The sphere of agricultural production affects direct or indirect ways to the settlement system, density, socio-demographic parameters. It affect on typology and appearance of agricultural buildings and edifices also. In the past, the size of the city was limited by local food opportunities. Despite the increase in agricultural production every year, natural renewable resources are depleted faster than they can be restored. It is very likely that after 2050 the world ecological collapse may begin. The result will be the inability to feed even half the human population.Active development of food production at the local level it is necessary to prevent such a catastrophic scenario. It will significantly reduce losses during storage and transportation of food, create closed cycles, where waste will be one of the elements of the ecosystem. Much of agricultural production must be located in an anthropogenic environment – an artificial landscape created by human. Local food production will significantly affect on urban planning structure of settlements and visualmorphological structure of architectural objects. Local agricultural production should become a key element of food security. Area vulnerability degree should be primarily determination of urban agricultural production share. Local agro-climatic, energy and technological opportunities will determine the possibility of self-sufficiency in food at the local level. Agrophotovoltaics can become a main landscape-creating element of medium and large cities suburban areas. Integration of agrostuctures in buildings and edifices is possible at various scales and ways. Synergy of energy, agricultural production and waste recycling will be one of the 5–7 key structural planning principles for all architectural objects. Local food production capacity will limit the maximum size of megacities and contribute to a more dispersed settlement structure. information technology and networks is key elements in ensuring of this today. We should actively provide and implement a new solution of variety projects because window of opportunity may be significantly smaller than expected.

Healthcare professionals’ views on access to vaccines in Nigeria: A cross sectional study

Vaccines are important public health interventions that are critical in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Sustainable access to these products is therefore critical in articulating contextual policies and strategies. This study aimed at exploring the views of healthcare professionals regarding perceived challenges and strategies that influence access to vaccines in Nigeria. A cross sectional study was undertaken amongst healthcare practitioners that attended a conference targeted at improving access to vaccines. A questionnaire was used for data collection, and analysis was undertaken using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. Questionnaires were administered to a total of 604 participants, response rate was 87.1%, with male participants (54.4%) being slightly better represented than females (45.6%). A tenth of the participants (10.6%) were educated up to doctorate degree level, and a considerable proportion of the participants (43.6%) worked in the government sector. Slightly above three quarters (78.3%) of the participants were of the view that lack of local production capacity was an obstacle preventing access to vaccines, whilst above two thirds of the respondents (70.5%) were of the opinion that the current funding for research and development towards vaccines was sub-optimal. A total of 70.1% of the sample disagreed that the current policy environment was favourable to development of vaccines, whilst more than half of the participants (56%) perceived a lack of support by philanthropists and relevant foundations, for vaccines development in Nigeria. A majority of the participants (73.7%) indicated that sustainable access to vaccines in Nigeria could be achieved by harnessing local research capacity. This study identified critical challenges limiting access to vaccines in Nigeria and can consequently underpin relevant policy and practice reforms that aim to improve access to this public health tool.

Complex norm localization: from price competitiveness to local production in East African Community pharmaceutical policy

This article offers a critical contribution to debates around access to medicines and the global politics of pharmaceutical production in Africa. Specifically, we seek to account for a normative shift within these debates whereby the promotion of local pharmaceutical production in Africa has once again come to be viewed as a central modality for achieving access to health across the continent. While the onset of this normative shift has been highlighted by the global Covid-19 pandemic, in this article we argue that its antecedents can be traced to a more incremental process of global and regional normative change that has been in motion since the late 1990s. To illustrate this, we narrow our empirical focus onto the East African Community (EAC) and the regional initiatives its members have pursued to promote local pharmaceutical production capacities since 2012. We draw and build upon the literature on norm localization to emphasize how the emergence and distinctiveness of this policy reflected the complex way in which policy actors within the EAC sought to localize and combine separate (and somewhat competing) changing global norms around access to health and industrial policy. The article also points to the tensions and unintended consequences which emerged from this complex process of norm localization and the challenges of implementing this strategy within the institutional landscape of the EAC.

Mitigating water imbalance between coastal and inland areas through seawater desalination within China

At present, more than 142 seawater desalination projects have been built in China, which effectively alleviate freshwater scarcity pressure in coastal cities while showing little effects on inland areas. Through evaluating seawater desalination distribution, it is practical to analyze optimal water transfer path to mitigate freshwater imbalance and alleviate freshwater shortage pressure. Based on the compiled list of seawater desalination projects, this study evaluated the embodied water consumption of China's seawater desalination projects in 28 coastal cities and 9 provinces/municipalities. Taking the desalination water availability, desalinated water proportion, and regional water disparity into consideration, the overall plan for the optimal water transfer path are proposed to balance the desalination water resources based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). When compared, the desalinated water resources reached an increasingly high proportion in local water production capacity, and the water mitigation degree through seawater desalination kept increasing. The optimal water transfer planning has the potential to ease the imbalance of desalination water distribution and lower water shortage pressure in water-scarce areas, which is expected to allocate freshwater resources and promote sustainable water management from a nationwide perspective.

Building the Momentum for A Stronger Pharmaceutical System in Africa.

Despite impressive progress, nearly two billion people worldwide have no access to essential medicines. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed Africa’s vulnerability due to its reliance on imports for most vaccines, medicines, and other health product needs. The vaccine manufacturing is complex and requires massive financial investments, with global, regional, and national regulatory structures introducing consistent and urgent reforms to assure the quality and safety of medicines. In 2020, there were approximately 600 pharmaceutical manufacturers in Africa, 80% of which were concentrated in eight countries: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Only 4 countries had more than 50 manufacturers, while 22 countries had no local production. Out of the 600, around 25% were multinational companies. Africa is equally affected by modest scaled capacities substantially engaging in packaging and labelling, and occasionally fill and finish steps, facing criticalities in terms of solvent domestic markets. This article discusses the challenges in the development of a local pharmaceutical manufacturing in Africa and reflects on the importance of the momentum for strengthening the local medical production capacity in the continent as a critical opportunity for advancing universal health coverage (UHC).

COVID-19 vaccine inequity, dependency, and production capability in low-income and middle-income countries: the case of Bangladesh

COVID-19 vaccine inequity, dependency, and production capability in low-income and middle-income countries: the case of Bangladesh

Powering an island energy system by offshore floating technologies towards 100% renewables: A case for the Maldives

Low-lying coastal areas and archipelago countries are particularly threatened by the impacts of climate change. Concurrently, many island states still rely on extensive use of imported fossil fuels, above all diesel for electricity generation, in addition to hydrocarbon-based fuels to supply aviation and marine transportation. Land area is usually scarce and conventional renewable energy solutions cannot be deployed in a sufficient way. This research highlights the possibility of floating offshore technologies being able to fulfil the task of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy solutions in challenging topographical areas. On the case of the Maldives, floating offshore solar photovoltaics, wave power and offshore wind are modelled on a full hourly resolution in two different scenarios to deal with the need of transportation fuels: By importing the necessary, carbon neutral synthetic e-fuels from the world market, or by setting up local production capacities for e-fuels. Presented results show that a fully renewable energy system is technically feasible in 2030 with a relative cost per final energy of 120.3 €/MWh and 132.1 €/MWh, respectively, for the two scenarios in comparison to 105.7 €/MWh of the reference scenario in 2017. By 2050, cost per final energy can be reduced to 77.6 €/MWh and 92.6 €/MWh, respectively. It is concluded that floating solar photovoltaics and wave energy converters will play an important role in defossilisation of islands and countries with restricted land area.