Status: 04/02/2023 12:57 p.m
In response to the lack of protective equipment at the beginning of the corona pandemic, the federal government decided to store masks and medicines. But the project is not progressing – apparently there is a lack of funds.
In order to be able to react to crises such as pandemics, floods or supply chain failures, the federal government decided at the beginning of the corona pandemic in 2020 to set up a “National Health Protection Reserve”. But three years later, the project is still in the initial phase – apparently there is a lack of money. This is reported by the “Welt am Sonntag” and relies on information from the Ministry of Health. “For phases two and three, no budget has yet been allocated for further conceptual design and possible procurement,” said a spokesman for the ministry, according to the newspaper.
Still in phase one
In the first phase, protective equipment and medical devices that were procured during the pandemic and are left over should be stockpiled. In a second step, the reserve should be stocked with goods such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices that were produced by companies in Germany. Phase three was actually supposed to start this year – continuous operation, in which production capacities were to be kept available for half a year.
According to the ministry spokesman, 245 million protective masks have been stored so far, which were procured at the beginning of the corona pandemic and will last until the end of 2023, and in some cases until 2026. The Ministry of Health did not want to say whether and what has been stocked so far in addition to protective masks. The spokesman only told the “Welt am Sonntag” that the reserve had not yet been fully created because the money needed was missing.
Treasury Department does not approve
“The Federal Ministry of Health had announced budget funds of 250 million euros for each of the years 2022 and 2023, and 50 million euros each for the following years from 2024,” said the spokesman. However, the Federal Ministry of Finance rejected the release in October 2022. The FDP-led house informed the newspaper that the departments were basically free to “set appropriate priorities” in the course of budget preparation.
The FDP chairman in the budget committee, Karsten Klein, told the newspaper that the need had to be determined before funds were made available for the next phase of building up the reserve. In addition, “alternatives to physical storage should be examined”. In addition, the primary responsibility for civil protection does not lie with the federal government, but with the states.
criticism from the opposition
The health policy spokesman for the Union faction in the Bundestag, Tino Sorge (CDU), spoke in the “Welt am Sonntag” of a “poor testimony”. The governing coalition is obviously blocking itself on this issue. The federal government has encouraged medium-sized companies to set up domestic production. Now the prospective orders have not materialized, criticized concern. “In the next crisis, we will buy the protective equipment from China again.”
Kathrin Vogler, health policy spokeswoman for the left faction, considered it “completely negligent to ignore prevention again”. The SPD is constantly “led by the smallest coalition partner by the nose ring through the ring” – the FDP is meant by that.
Reserve is to ensure supply for six months
At the beginning of June 2020, the black-red coalition decided to set up the “National Health Protection Reserve”. In acute emergency situations, the reserve should cover the needs of the health sector for six months with goods such as masks, disposable gloves, protective suits and medicines, said the then Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) in summer 2021.
According to the federal government, the material is to be stored at 19 locations. In an emergency, hospitals, care facilities and medical practices can then be supported from the reserve. The inventories are intended to ensure that Germany is no longer dependent on overpriced supplies from abroad in emergencies.
At the beginning of the corona pandemic, protective materials such as masks were scarce. The federal government then got involved in procurement and created incentives for domestic manufacturers. The “National Reserve Health Protection” is intended to be the first part of a comprehensive strategy for civil protection. In the medium term, precautions for crises such as floods and major fires are also to be improved.