1 research outputs found
Biomedical waste disposal systems of health facilities in Ethiopia
Background: Biomedical waste generated from health and health-related activities can be grouped as
general waste and hazardous waste. This remains true if and only if there is proper on-site handling, such as
the segregation and separation of waste based on the type and nature of the source.
Methods: A stratified random sampling design was used to provide representative results for Ethiopia, for
various types of facility and management authorities, and for each of the 11 regions. Totally, 1327 health
facilities were assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) inventory tools.
Results: Nationally, medical waste in 32.6% of the studied health facilities was stored in covered containers,
and in about 27% of them it was stored in another protected environment. About 40% of health facilities
stored their medical waste in unprotected areas. Twenty-eight (2.6%) and 420 (39.3%) health facilities used
2-chamber industrial incinerators and 1-chamber drum incinerators, respectively. About 58% of health
facilities used unsafe waste treatment methods. The proportion of using safe medical waste disposal method
was high in referral hospitals (87.9%). This shows the utilization of safe medical waste disposal methods is
in decreasing order from higher to lower levels of organization in health facilities.
Conclusion: The present study showed a preliminary finding on the waste disposal systems of health
facilities at the national level. Dumping biomedical waste outside the health facility is common, and access
to common waste facilities is limited. Therefore, a holistic approach to safe medical waste management
practices, including the collection process (handling, sorting, and segregation), storage, treatment and
final disposal is crucial in all types of health facilities, regardless of the level of organization, ownership, or
geographic distribution.
Keywords: Health Facility, Biomedical Waste, Disposal, Incinerator, Ethiopi