Medical Waste Management
(A) Workers carrying medical waste in designated buckets to keep for collection and dumping. (B) The dumping site of "Medical Waste Management Project in Bangladesh" located at Matuail in the city. (C) Workers at the Medical Waste Management Plant are preparing the plastic medical waste for recycling. (D) The incinator of the medical waste management plant. Photo: Tareq Salahuddin
Safe disposal of medical waste continues to be a matter of serious concern for health. Thousands of tonnes of medical waste originating from hospitals and clinics in the form of cotton swabs and bandages infected with blood, IV fluid bags, needles, catheters, human tissues and body parts, etc. are not handled and dumped properly. The condition is more perilous in public hospitals where the maximum bulk of waste products are produced. Such unsafe practice can hasten the spread of some serious infectious virus like HIV, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, gastroenteritis, respiratory tract infections and other noxious diseases. Prism Bangladesh, has been working at a large scale to improve the medical waste management system in association with the government (Dhaka City Corporation). They have come out with a medical waste management programme which is helping certain private hospitals in the city to dispose off their medical waste properly. There is dire need to expand the programme to cover all public and private hospitals in the country, since the medical waste can cause lots of hazards. It has a direct impact on health and environment. Medical waste management issue has to be underscored by both public and private initiative, since there is almost no awareness on the issue. Currently, there is no specific medical waste management rule in our country. Inter-ministerial decision is also needed to implement it successfully. Strict implementation of rules and regulations are badly needed to curb the impending dangers. Experts urged NGOs and other voluntary bodies to come forward come forward in this concern.
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