Medical workers in Kyrgyzstan to receive training on disposal of medical waste

AKIPRESS.COM - The volume of medical waster has grown several times due to coronavirus pandemic in Kyrgyzstan. This situation required assessment and improvement of medical waste management system and conduct of rapid study on environmental impact of waste due to Covid-19, UNDP in Kyrgyzstan said. According to specialist of National Infection Control Center Preventive Medicine Alexey Kravtsov, special enterprises faced collapse: they were unable to sterilize the waste. A part of medical waste was removed by a private company that has equipment for recovery, another part was taken to the landfill after sterilization.
According to WHO, 15% of medical waste is considered hazardous as it poses risk of infections for hospital patients, medical workers and others. Their burning will be harmful to health due to emission of toxic pollutants and pathogens. Besides, this could lead to significant emission of resistant organic pollutants and environmental disaster eventually.
"Due to improper destruction of medical waste, spontaneous combustion occurs at landfills. As a result, the burning waste, including medical waste containing plastic, emits a huge amount of resistant organic pollutants into environment that adversely affect health of population," Alexey Kravtsov said.
UNDP in Kyrgyzstan is involved into assessment and improvement of this system, rapid study of environmental impact of waste caused due to coronavirus pandemic. Besides, more than 600 workers of 42 medical facilities will be trained on medical waste management. Such training will be provided at each medical facility providing treatment to patients with coronavirus infection in Bishkek and Osh, all regions of the country immediately after conducted monitoring and assessment of medical waste disposal system.
Kyrgyzstan will have such large-scale monitoring in the sphere of medical waste disposal for the first time, Alexey Kravtsov said.
The study will allow to see the system of medical waste disposal and how it works in order to provide recommendations on its improvement.