Bangladesh — Health Care Without Harm, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) and Family Health International (FHI) organised a seminar entitled “Medical Waste Management in Bangladesh” at ICDDR,B;s Sasakawa auditorium in Dhaka to raise awareness about proper medical waste management.

Speakers said health care facilities are generating a variety of solid wastes such as infectious waste, sharps, pathological waste and toxic chemicals. Antibiotic resistant pathogens and active antibiotics also enter the environment when wastewater from hopsitals and diagnostics centres is not treated. 

Although the Government of Bangladesh has medical waste rules on the handling, treatment and disposal of waste, there is lack of treatment facilities and enforcement of existing guidelines. Infectious wastes are often sold for recycling, risking the health of workers, and syringes may even be illegally repackaged, posing another threat to public health.

As well as outlining the hazards of neglecting medical waste management, the seminar focused on the need to understand the issues, waste treatment trechnolgies and the current regulations. It also created an opportunity to network with donors and inform them that they need to understand the problems related to medical waste management and that resources need to be allocated to assist Bangladesh in addressing it. Speakers at the seminar also urged NGOs to understand the need for not only increasing the medical care capacity but also improving the infrastructure of medical facilities to deal with this issue.

Ruth Stringer, International Science and Policy Coordinator, Health Care without Harm introduced various medical waste treatment technologies in her first presentation. Later she also delivered a talk on the general implementation steps of a medical waste management plan. 

Dr. Aruna Biswas, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Establishment, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and chief guest, highlighted the challenges in medical waste management. Dr Biswas noted that it was very encouraging that ICDDR,B along with governmental and nongovernmental organisations were setting positive examples by taking a lead to ensure better management of medical waste within their own facilities. 

The seminar speakers also included: Ms Misti McDowell, Country Director of Bangladesh FHI; Mr Tarit Kanti Biswas, Program coordinator, Prism; Md. Solaiman Haider, Director, Biosafety Project from the Department of Environment; Mr Nihad Adnan, Lecturer, Department of Microbiology, Jahangir Nagar University; and Advocate Bahreen Khan, Member of Bangladesh Environment Law Association (BELA). ICDDR,B’s Kenneth A. Ford, Head, Bio-safety & Quality Assurance Unit, facilitated the the question and answer session, while Dr. Mark Pietroni, Medical Director of the Dhaka Hospital closed the seminar.

Read presentations

• Medical Waste Treatment Technologies by Ruth Stringer, International Science and Policy Coordinator, Health Care Without Harm, Dhaka January 2011.
• Implementation of Medical Waste Management Systemsby Ruth Stringer, International Science and Policy Coordinator, Health Care Without Harm, Dhaka January 2011.