1 October 2014
SPREP Reports on Healthcare Waste in 14 Countries
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As part of a baseline survey for the Pacific Hazardous Waste Management (PacWaste) project, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has released national assessments of healthcare waste management in 14 Pacific countries.

The survey results will be used to identify priority interventions for the Pacific region, as part of the €7.85 million project.

eu-sprep25 September 2014: As part of a baseline survey for the Pacific Hazardous Waste Management (PacWaste) project, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has released national assessments of healthcare waste management in 14 Pacific countries. The survey results will be used to identify priority interventions for the Pacific region, as part of the €7.85 million project.

According to the findings, not all hospitals incinerate healthcare waste. Some hospitals send the waste untreated to landfill, while others stockpile expired pharmaceuticals, due to insufficient incinerator capacity.

The survey also assessed waste segregation activities, as well as staff training on infection control.

The project is expected to result in the provision of high temperature incinerators, equipment and training to Pacific hospitals. PacWaste is also working on asbestos waste management, e-waste, and atoll solid integrated waste management.

PacWaste is funded by the EU and implemented by SPREP.

The national assessments were conducted for: Cook Islands; Federated States of Micronesia; Fiji; Kiribati; Marshall Islands; Nauru; Niue; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Timor-Leste; Tonga; Tuvalu; and Vanuatu. [SPREP Press Release] [Country Reports]