Call for suspension of disposable nappies
MBABANE - There are intensified calls by some emaSwati for government to suspend the usage of disposable nappies as they are polluting the environment.
This concern was raised during the Validation of the Healthcare Waste Management Strategy held at Mountain Inn, Mbabane. They said the water which people consumed was waste from the disposable nappies. The participants said it was because of that reason that they wanted government to take action on the disposable nappies usage.
One speaker, in vernacular said; “Akubuyelwe kusentjentiwe emanabukeni ngoba wona ayawasheka hhayi loku. (Let us revert to using cotton nappies because they are reusable.”
Reduce
The Director of Health, Dr Vusi Magagula, said the Environmental Health Department under the Health Ministry had a strategic mandate to reduce mortality and morbidity, resulting from environmental conditions and zoonotic diseases transferable to man, as well as climate change.
He further said the ministry was grateful to the support received from the World Bank to improve healthcare waste management in the country. He stated that the ministry, (Environmental Health Department) with the assistance of various stakeholders, had over the years managed to develop and implement a National Health Care Waste Policy,
Guidelines, Standards and Practices to assist in the management of healthcare waste. Dr Magagula also said the ministry had managed to establish a healthcare waste management system in all health facilities in the country. He said healthcare waste was segregated from the source, as one could see colour coded waste receptacles
in public and private clinics, health centre and hospitals.
“Waste segregation is key in healthcare waste management as it facilitates proper disposal of waste with reduced negative impacts to the environment,” he said.
The director further said the ministry had done so much to improve the management of healthcare waste in the country despite the gaps which still existed. He said there was still much room for improvement in the sector.
He also pointed out that the Ministry of Health, through a World Bank funded project titled ‘Health System Strengthening for Human Capital Development (HSSHCD) Project’, engaged technical assistance to develop a National Healthcare Waste Management Strategy that would guide management of such for the next five years.
Facilitated
“A SWOT analysis was done, which facilitated the development of strategic objectives and activities to be prioritised in the next five years. The country will have an official National Healthcare Waste Management Strategy,” he said.
Lead Consultant, Sabelo Masuku, said the country had done a tremendous job dealing with health waste, as the statistics showed that the country was currently sitting at 58 per cent. He said it was not as bad as compared to other countries.
He encouraged pharmaceutical users to return the waste to their supplier immediately after usage for proper disposal.
“We encourage all those who use pharmaceutical products to return the waste to their suppliers for proper disposal. The reason is that they know how to deal with it as compared to those people found in the rural areas,” said Masuku.
Masuku, who presented the Healthcare Waste Management Strategic plan which would be from 2022 till 2027, said there was no budget to deal with heathcare waste management. He, however, said money was spent towards dealing with the waste. He said despite not having a specific budget allocated to the waste management, they bought liners and refueled incinerators.
Masuku said the upstream management was all about identifying the problem and coming up with strategies of how to deal with it.
Incinerators
Ignatius Shongwe, one of the participants, said the issue of incinerators usage to destroy the health waste was a problem as it was contributing to air pollution. He also pointed out that on the issue of ash, which came out from the incinerators, that it polluted the water.
“I am concerned on the final disposal ash coming from the incinerators. The water is now contaminated, making it not fit for human consumption. We are also trying to reduce the emission of poisonous gases which destroy our ozone layer, but here we are still burning the waste using the incinerators,” said Shongwe.
The director of health said the meeting was to examine as to where the ministry was regarding HCWM and what needed to be done to improve for the better. He said they would then scan the legislation by identifying the loopholes on that legislation and how it could be implemented.
“Identifying the problem is key and that is why we touched on the upstream exercise. After identifying the problem, then sort it out,” said Magagula.
He further thanked all relevant stakeholders who participated in the national healthcare waste management strategy validation session.