Technical Cooperation for Enhancing Infectious Healthcare Waste Management

Appropriate healthcare waste (HCW) management is crucial for preventing the spread of infectious diseases and ensuring public health. However, in many economically developing countries, HCW is often insufficiently segregated at sources and the hazardous infectious components are mixed with municipal solid waste, and directly disposed without any treatment, which poses great risk factors for healthcare institutes, waste management service providers, and the public. According to statistical cross-country analysis, the amount of HCW generation is expected to increase sharply in near future in developing countries. What can we do to improve the status of HCW management in developing countries and prevent the spread of infection? It is necessary to establish an effective HCW management system and strengthen its implementation capacity, especially in developing countries. When conducting international technical assistance for them to support the establishment of the HCW management system and capacity development, it is required to set the targets for technical assistance through conducting an assessment survey, analyzing problems, evaluating risks, supporting to formulate management plans, and provision of equipment. A diagnosis method for existing capacity and challenges is proposed for planning technical assistance. Experiences of technical assistance on HCW management in Palestine are presented as a case study.