As the world groans and grieves under the siege of the COVID-19 pandemic, African scientists are being challenged to help Africa look inwards and create effective homegrown solutions in combating the pandemic. Stemming from this, the World Bank-sponsored Africa Centre of Excellence, a technology innovation park of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Nigeria, is leading the way through the production of masks, key personal protective equipment, as part of the response against COVID-19. As widely advised and mandated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, wearing face masks can help reduce the community spread of respiratory infections such as COVID-19. Thus, wearing of face masks is crucial at a critical time like this.
The IfeMask, as codenamed, is a wholly locally designed, developed and produced nose mask by the World Bank-sponsored OAU ICT Knowledge Park (OAK-Park). The mask is unique. It draws its uniqueness in its durability, reusability and comfortability. The reinforced rubber material and acrylic painted body makes it possible to be washed and decontaminate after each use. The mask does not change shape on reuse and is comfortable to wear. It also embeds an N95-compliant high-efficiency particulate air filter material, which allow for breathing, while trapping foreign objects. The filtering material can be changed after each use. The detachable mask is easy to assemble and dissemble within two minutes.
The design, development and production of the IfeMask aligns with the vision of the World Bank, to create regionally-recognized and acknowledged centres in Africa driven by high quality, commercialised research and technology; and in the case of OAK-Park, to also advance the growth of the ICT industry. OAK-Park has been a trailblazer in this regard with other products such as drones and fingerprint scanners, all locally produced in its line.