Sustainable Health Care Waste Management: A Step Towards A Greener Future
19 December 2024
DUBAI, UAE – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), in partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), UNICEF, and technical advisor Mott MacDonald Ltd, organized a workshop from 3-5 December 2024 focused on sustainable health care waste management in developing countries. This event gathered participants from 22 countries, primarily from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, that benefit from donor funding or financing of interventions to help improve health care waste management systems.
Building on a mid-2023 assessment by Gavi, which highlighted key initiatives for enhancing health care waste management, the workshop sought to create actionable plans for long-term sustainability. The Global Fund has already committed US$84 million in its recent grant cycle and COVID-19 Response Mechanism to bolster waste management systems in over 40 countries. Additionally, Gavi has invested around US$18 million in 29 countries, underlining our collaborative commitment to this critical issue.
Over three days, 48 participants from across 22 countries (mainly in Africa, Asia and the Pacific) engaged in sessions designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and develop tailored, budgeted two-year healthcare waste roadmaps for their countries. Open discussions allowed participants to collaborate on challenges they face and share successful practices.
The workshop also focused on the importance of adopting climate-friendly waste management solutions, emphasizing the benefits of green technologies, logistics, infrastructure, funding, and stakeholder engagement. Key topics included:
- Transportation and logistics
- Equipment procurement and maintenance
- Financial planning
- Public-private partnerships
Facilitators provided tools for assessing and implementing sustainable practices, with models that help map current capabilities and identify areas for improvement. Recognizing the critical role of environmentally sustainable practices, participants discussed integrating climate considerations into health care grants and measuring the carbon impact of waste treatment processes.
Notable presentations included Eswatini’s successful 10-year national health care waste management plan and Indonesia's innovative digital waste tracking system, which enhances efficiency and monitoring through QR codes.
Participants produced 17 country-specific short-term roadmaps and will reconvene quarterly to review progress, share updates, and continuously refine their strategies for effective health care waste management.
This workshop marks a significant step forward in fostering sustainable health care systems and ensuring a cleaner, greener future for communities worldwide.