Ubuntu - Containment Bed for Epidemic Outbreaks
A proposal for a new type of low cost and dignifying beds in case of an epidemic outbreak.
Ubuntu was developed as a reaction to the insufficient capacity of hospital beds during the Ebola Outbreak 2014-2016 in West Africa. Due to the fact that only 30% of the needed capacity was available, many of the contagious incoming patients had to go back to their communities, ended up infecting others. In addition, patients with other diseases were not able to receive treatment. Given the scarcity of resources, Ubuntu offers the possibility of quick assembling containment beds on-site using locally produced bamboo, zip ties and disposable sheets of Tyvek® functioning as mattress and barrier between the beds. The Tyvek® sheets will come as one large roll where each sheets, with instructions printed on it, can easily be cut off and assembled into an Ubuntu bed. Using already manufactured materials which are light-weight and space efficient with locally sourced bamboo to bypass the conventional logistics makes Ubuntu a quicker, cost efficient and above all a more dignifying solution.