PPE

Back in June we launched PPE for Fisheries, a campaign to support fishers and seafood traders in Peru’s small fishing villages with the necessary protective gear and sanitation supplies to safely provide fish — a vital source of nutrition — to the Peruvian population. This project was developed in response to the crises of worker safety and food supply caused by Covid-19. Since then, we have been able to expand PPE for Fisheries from its initial connection with three villages to provide protective equipment, supporting over 7400 fishers at 8 villages up and down the coast.

In Peru, small scale fisheries play a critical role in food security and the national economy, supplying approximately 95% of the seafood consumed domestically and producing $902 million (USD) in revenue annually. Not surprisingly, then, fishers are considered essential workers. But in villages such as La Islilla — where deficient medical infrastructure means that COVID spread is an ongoing concern — even essential fishing is too risky without proper PPE (personal protective equipment).