Healthcare Waste in Ethiopia a Study of Waste Generation, Composition and Management in the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Background: Hospitals are among the complex institutions which generate a broad range of hazardous waste materials in the course of healthcare activities. The hazardous and toxic parts of wastes from healthcare establishments consists of infectious, bio-medical, chemical, sharps and radioactive material pose serious environmental and public health risks, if they are not properly treated and disposed. Despite the great potential for environmental hazards and public health risks of healthcare waste, its proper handling and management is substantially undermined in many developing countries. The hazardous waste has a small portion of healthcare waste, but the absence of appropriate waste segregation practices leads mixing hazardous waste with general (non-hazardous) waste results the entire bulk of waste becoming potentially hazardous. In Ethiopia, there is a continued growth in the number of hospitals and other health facilities to meet the healthcare demand of the alarming population growth. Increasing the number of health institution and development of technology combined with an increase in the use of disposable medical products has contributed to the large amount and diversity in composition of healthcare waste being generated. The high generation rate compounded by poor handling and disposal practices has been increasing the risk of environmental contamination and disease transmission. To establish proper healthcare waste management system, it is crucial to know the current practice, healthcare waste composition and predicting the generation rate. The actual amount of healthcare waste generated and its composition in Ethiopia is not well defined; consequently, estimating different figures in healthcare waste management is becoming very problematic. Therefore, a comprehensive research is required for the development of effective healthcare waste management system that can minimize the health and environmental risks. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the composition and generation rate of healthcare ...