Managing medical waste in Ghana – the reality
Justice Kofi Debrah, Ivaní Nadir Carlotto, Diogo Guedes Vidal, Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis
Abstract
This study estimates the Medical Waste (MW) generated and the handling process in six Healthcare Facilities (HF) in Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and identifies the associated parameters. The data were collected by field work and MW collection, identification and weighing. The results indicate that the average rate of infectious MW ranged from 0.23 to 2.34 kg/bed/day (M = 0.95 kg/bed/day), and 0.24 to 1.68 kg/bed/day for non-infectious MW (M = 0.56 kg/bed/day). An amount of 11.41 tonnes of MW were estimated in the six HF in Greater Accra and Eastern Region in Ghana, comprising 49.1% infectious MW. The results suggest that the number of outpatients/day and the size of HF are the main predictors for the MW generation. The study shows that the segregation of MW is not correctly practised in the studied HF since 33% used the uncontrolled combustion process of open burning and dumping to handle 0.99 tonnes (8.7%) of MW.