Staff Reporter :
About 93.4% of Covid-19 related waste generated by households and healthcare facilities in the country remain unmanaged, posing a severe threat to the environment as well as public health, according to a study by Brac.
The use of facemasks and other protective gear has gone up in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Apart from hospitals and other healthcare facilities, households too are now generating medical waste.
However, a proper disposal of such wastes has not been possible because of a weak waste management system being in place.
“Only a handful of organisations are working on medical waste management. They collect waste from healthcare facilities and cover only five districts.
“Besides, only one treatment plant has been set up in the capital,” said Dr Md Mostafizur Rahman, who teaches environment sciences at
Jahangirnagar University, while presenting the study findings at a webinar organised yesterday by Brac Climate Change Programme.
More than 4,600 general people and 300 healthcare professionals were interviewed during the survey. Those involved in waste management were also conversed with in order to understand the gravity of the waste problem.
Healthcare professionals said the absence of proper management and disposal has become an obstacle to best practices in relation to protective gear.
Only 43.6% of them were aware of the Bangladesh Medical Waste Management Rule 2008. They consider medical waste management an additional workload and financial burden.
And over 90% of healthcare providers think an integrated and inclusive waste management plan is imperative to establishing a proper disposal mechanism in the country.
According to the World Economic Forum, global mask sales are up by 20,000% due to the pandemic and 75% of the masks could end up in the landfill and the sea, giving rise to environmental pollution.
In Bangladesh, about 530 tonnes of medical waste are generated from households and healthcare facilities every day, which can inflict damage to public health and the environment. Only 14% of the waste generated at healthcare facilities undergo treatment and the rest is dumped into the environment.
About 93.4% of Covid-19 related waste generated by households and healthcare facilities in the country remain unmanaged, posing a severe threat to the environment as well as public health, according to a study by Brac.
The use of facemasks and other protective gear has gone up in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Apart from hospitals and other healthcare facilities, households too are now generating medical waste.
However, a proper disposal of such wastes has not been possible because of a weak waste management system being in place.
“Only a handful of organisations are working on medical waste management. They collect waste from healthcare facilities and cover only five districts.
“Besides, only one treatment plant has been set up in the capital,” said Dr Md Mostafizur Rahman, who teaches environment sciences at
Jahangirnagar University, while presenting the study findings at a webinar organised yesterday by Brac Climate Change Programme.
More than 4,600 general people and 300 healthcare professionals were interviewed during the survey. Those involved in waste management were also conversed with in order to understand the gravity of the waste problem.
Healthcare professionals said the absence of proper management and disposal has become an obstacle to best practices in relation to protective gear.
Only 43.6% of them were aware of the Bangladesh Medical Waste Management Rule 2008. They consider medical waste management an additional workload and financial burden.
And over 90% of healthcare providers think an integrated and inclusive waste management plan is imperative to establishing a proper disposal mechanism in the country.
According to the World Economic Forum, global mask sales are up by 20,000% due to the pandemic and 75% of the masks could end up in the landfill and the sea, giving rise to environmental pollution.
In Bangladesh, about 530 tonnes of medical waste are generated from households and healthcare facilities every day, which can inflict damage to public health and the environment. Only 14% of the waste generated at healthcare facilities undergo treatment and the rest is dumped into the environment.
