Watchdog issues ultimatum on medical waste disposal

Dar es Salaam. Mounting cases of improper disposal of medical waste in Dar es Salaam and Coast regions has prompted the environment watchdog to issue a three-month notice for health facilities in the country to comply with the relevant guidelines.

The National Environment Management Council (Nemc) yesterday ordered hospitals and dispensaries to comply by ensuring that they have in place proper disposal facilities and procedures or face punitive action, which includes indefinite suspension of operations.

Nemc said it has noticed that medical waste is being improperly disposed of in Kigamboni and Coco Beach in Dar es Salaam and Kibaha in Coast Region, thus exposing people to the risk of contracting communicable diseases.

“There have been reports and observations of improper collection, transportation and disposal of waste generated by health services in various parts of the country,” Nemc acting director of compliance Hamadi Kissiwa told reporters.

He said the agency sent a fact-finding team to Kibaha after it was informed of improper disposal of medical waste in the town.

“We found what remained of medical waste after it was burnt contrary to the laid-down procedures and guidelines, something which is dangerous,” Mr Kissiwa added.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), medical waste is waste generated by healthcare activities, ranging from used needles and syringes to soiled dressings, body parts, diagnostic samples, blood, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and radioactive materials.

Mr Kissiwa said medical waste that has been improperly disposed of was found at Coco Beach by youth who were cleaning the area, adding that there is a danger of such waste finding its way into the ocean.

"Anyone who ignores these instructions will be breaking the law and appropriate action will be taken against them, including suspension of the errant facilities’ operations.”

Mr Kissiwa said people and institutions involved in the provision of health services in the country should adhere to the requirements of the law on the environment and its regulations, along with guidelines outlined by the Health ministry.

According to the 2017 National Policy Guidelines for Healthcare Waste Management in Tanzania, health facilities are supposed to provide appropriate personal protective equipment to staff and ensure that they use it and also see to it that hazardous medical waste is collected on a daily basis.

The guidelines also state that healthcare waste should not be moved by hand to prevent the risk of accidents or injury.

Health facilities are supposed to have fenced storage bays and ensure that transportation on public roads is conducted by licensed companies only.

The guidelines also require healthcare waste to be transported using colour-coded or labelled transportation equipment that is not used for any other purpose.

The Health ministry conducted a study in 2014 to establish the status of healthcare waste management in the country and the findings were revealing.

According to the survey, which involved regional and district hospitals in 17 Tanzanian Mainland regions, 89 percent of the health facilities did not have sufficient colour-coded waste bins, while 80 percent had no comprehensive healthcare waste management.

Also, 53 percent of the health facilities had no designated officer for healthcare waste management.

Among the health facilities that had a designated officer for healthcare waste management, 95 percent had no job description for the officer. The study further revealed that 47 percent of the regions visited had no regional coordinators handling healthcare waste management.

Mr Kissiwa said Nemc will begin inspecting health facilities in collaboration with other relevant authorities in the country and penalties will be imposed for non-compliance, including shutting down errant facilities until they establish adequate infrastructure for the storage, transportation and disposal of medical waste.