Medical waste dumped in the bush by one of the private health facility in Gulu City. The policy drafted by Lira City council is meant to curb such practice. Photo by GNNA Editor
By Sharon Akello
Lira
Lira City health officials, in collaboration with Uganda Health Activity (UHA), are developing a policy on proper medical waste management in all health facilities.
Dr. Bernard Otucu, Lira City Health Officer, revealed that evidence they got after doing inspections most private health facilities lack incinerators.
Consequently, a few of them transport their solid medical wastes to Lira Regional Hospital for incineration, and a number of them burn the medical wastes at the facilities.
“This is being compounded by incidents which are seen within the community of medical wastes being disposed of indiscriminately. We find this is a very big challenge,” Dr. Otucu said.
According to the National Healthcare Waste Management Plan of 2011-2012, Uganda lacks a specific hospital healthcare waste regulation.
Existing legal regulations also don’t ensure that medical institutions, Local Governments Authorities, and central Government units that handle management of healthcare waste warrants a duty of care and take precautionary measures to protect health workers, waste handlers, the public and environment from the adverse effects of poor handling of healthcare wastes.
There are also no legal frameworks or stipulated penalties for improper conduct, which makes it difficult for medical institutions to set up a united healthcare waste management plan, treatment and disposal facilities,
Dr. Otucu revealed that in November 2023, the City and Ministry of Health brainstormed on ways of developing such guidelines, but the discussion is yet to materialize.
“So at the moment each City, District, or Local gov’t is doing it alone,” Dr. Otucu said.
Neighbors to facilities most affected
Dr. Patrick Buchan Ocen, the Lira District Health Officer, said neighbors surrounding health facilities, most especially the privately owned, always complain about the foul smell from the rotting and burning medical waste.
The development of the waste management policy comes during the construction of a shs2.4b’s regional medical waste incinerator in Lira City.
The construction of the incinerator at Aler Waste Compost Plant in Lira City East Division is being undertaken by the Ministry of Health with financial support from the Global Fund to fight Malaria and Tuberculosis.
The waste plant will be used to collect all medical wastes from all health units in all the nine districts and the City in Lango sub-region, before it is transported to the regional incinerator for better management.
“We are happy with the construction of the incinerator which we believe will help us to manage highly infectious wastes …,” Dr. Ocen said.
Dr. Ocen acknowledged that the region still does not have a very effective medical waste disposal because of few incinerators, and poor means of transport for highly hazardous wastes to the Lira Regional Referral Hospital.
He cited that Health Center IVs like Amach and Ogur are supposed to be incinerating their medical wastes, but are instead using pits.
Dr, Ocen explained that incineration must be highly controlled to prevent it from emitting harmful gas to the environment.
Environmentalists speak
Leonard Otika, the Lira City Environmental Officer, said establishing the incinerator plant at Aler, which is far from residential areas will relieve the population who used to suffer from the poisonous gas emitted from the incinerator.
Otika explained that several health facilities have been struggling to manage medical waste, as many only have micro incinerators.
He hopes that the waste management plant will reduce careless disposal of medical wastes and generate revenue for the City Council, as private medical facilities that will take their medical wastes at the facility will be charged.
Construction of the medical waste incinerator was awarded to Ms Bul-mak Associates and the construction started on October 10th, 2022.
The first phase of the work, which involves the construction of the house for installing the incinerator, is expected to be completed within twelve months. Meanwhile, the installation of the machinery will be done in the second phase.
