Enhancing the role of facilities management in the fight against the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in developing countries’ public hospitals

Purpose This paper aims to present a review of the current COVID-19 pandemic with particular emphasis on developing countries in Africa. It aims to demonstrate how facilities management (FM) services delivery in public hospitals can be improved for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This paper embraces a review of current literature on COVID-19 and FM together with credible media updates. The paper critically synthesizes knowledge on the pandemic to position a technical view on how FM can be improved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings The COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented challenges and realities to the health-care system of most African countries. Despite the significant efforts being made by various governments, there appears to be a lack of a coherent and strategic FM plan to fight the pandemic. To create the necessary antivirus built environment, actionable and timely FM interventions are needed. Research limitations/implications The report herein is case guarded, based on the prevailing data and information as at the time of writing the paper. Nevertheless, the recommendations from the paper are useful for a worse future trajectory of the pandemic. Practical implications Knowledge of the proposed interventions will inform and assist health-care facilities managers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value The paper presents the first step towards encapsulating knowledge on FM and the COVID-19 pandemic. It sets forth recommendations that are useful for most developing countries’ public hospitals’ FM practices in the fight against this global pandemic. The authors intend to follow-up with future empirical studies for more objective assessments of FM and the COVID-19 pandemic.