Published: 13 December 2022
Medical waste management is an important area of concern for the environment and public health. Inadequate effective and sustainable medical waste management—including identification and segregation, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal—increases the risk of environmental pollution, outbreaks of infectious diseases, and health hazards for relevant stakeholders and the general public. According to a report by the World Health Organization, Bangladesh ranks second highest among South Asian countries in terms of the average amount of medical waste generated per bed per day. According to a recent report by BRAC, a private development organisation, approximately 7,440 tonnes of medical waste are generated in Bangladesh every month, most of which is not subject to proper management. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.6 of the United Nations emphasises the management of all types of waste in cities and sets a target to reduce the environmental impact caused by waste generation. In addition, proper and sustainable medical waste management plays an important role in accelerating progress towards achieving the targets under SDGs 3, 6, 8, 12 and 13. The National Environment Policy (2018) provides for the mandatory adoption of effective methods for the management of medical waste generated daily in hospitals, including its collection and storage.
Objectives of the Study
The overall objective of this study is to identify the governance challenges in medical waste management. The specific objectives are to:
- review the laws, policies and regulations related to medical waste management and identify the limitations and challenges in their compliance;
- identify the types, causes and extent of irregularities and corruption in medical waste management; and
- formulate recommendations for improving governance based on the findings of the study.
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