Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
Healthcare waste management and occupational health of health workers in developing countries during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
Healthcare waste management and occupational health of health workers in developing countries during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Healthcare waste management, occupational health of health workers, developing countries, the COVID-19 pandemic

The sound management of health care waste has been noted to be a major challenge facing developing countries especially Africa. This has resulted in several health threats to already ailing health systems. The situation could have worsened in recent years considering the current challenges the continent is facing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The health sector has been confronted with increased volumes of highly infectious wastes from the body fluids of patients patronising health facilities while the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs) such as nose masks, gloves, aprons and face shields during the pandemic have also increased due to the stringent protective practices recommended by the World Health Organization as well as several national ministries of health. This has resulted in the use of millions of PPEs both by health workers and patients. Studies have found that the corona-virus is capable of surviving on surfaces such as plastics, glass and fabric for up to nine days. The wastes from used PPEs therefore end up as wastes potentially infected with micro-organisms including the coronavirus which may persist in the environment for several days. Improper management of these wastes are therefore likely to pose environmental, occupational and public health threats espe-
cially in developing countries where sustainable waste management practices are yet to be achieved.
Globally, healthcare workers represent less than 3% of the popu-
lation but account for 14% of COVID-19 cases reported to WHO. It is

a challenge to provide corresponding statistics in developing countries, because to date, few countries are able to provide com-
plete counts of infections and deaths among health care works

related to COVID-19.
To what extent is inadequate management of health care waste
likely to be contributing to morbidity and mortality from COVID 19
and other infections among heath care and waste management
workers within and outside the confines of healthcare
establishments?
With the aid of some country examples, the paper demonstrates
weaknesses in the waste management cycle that have the potential
to militate against the occupational health and safety of healthcare
and waste management workers. Other contributory factors to high
morbidity and mortality hinge on weaknesses in IPC and WASH
measures among others.

The paper concludes that a dedicated health care waste manage-
ment system facilitated by national and sub-national policies and

guidelines, human capacity development and public-private part-
nerships for resource mobilization and investments to support

essential infrastructure are needed for sustainability of the waste

management function. Closely linked and integral to these mea-
sures is the existence of functional national and institutional

infection prevention and control (IPC) and WASH programs. Also
important are ensuring protection (through access to training,
vaccines, testing and psychosocial support) as well as decent work
conditions that include protection against excessive workloads and
reasonable wages.

Edith Essie Clarke, Mary Ashinyo, Sroda Hottor, Jemima Clarke, Betty Adehoke, Nana Kwame Dickson and Emmanuel Kyeremateng-Amoah

Elsevier Korea LLC

January 2022

Sri Wahyuni

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Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022