From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Experts in environmental science have lamented the poor knowledge of waste management among health workers in the country.
The environmental health experts drawn from both within and outside the country at a meeting held at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo stressed the need for proper waste management in the country.
The meeting which centres on “Legal, Policy and Implementation issues in Health care Waste Management” organized by the the university’s faculty of Health Law and Humanities in collaboration with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health also deliberated on the absence of comprehensive data and low public awareness of the potential dangers posed by healthcare waste.
Speaking at the meeting, the Dean, Faculty of Health Law and Humanities of the university, Professor Leroy Edozien, explained that “healthcare waste is any waste produced in hospitals, laboratories, research facilities and homes as a result of medical procedures:”
He added that healthcare waste poses harm to health workers, the public and the environment.
“Lagos State is ahead of other states in the implementation of healthcare waste policies,” he stated.
The experts at the meeting said a new national policy, replacing that of 2013, will soon be released and therefore encouraged that the policy be backed by primary legislation.
Welcoming the participants to the meeting, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Adesegun Fatusi, said that “UNIMED has led the way by devising healthcare waste management guidelines for its campuses.”
Experts at the meeting include Dr Obiora Ezeudu of the department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada; Dr Rotimi Adeyemi, Secretary, West African Postgraduate College of Environmental Health; Dr Cyril Akinyele, President, Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter.and Hon Francis Ejiroghene Waive, Member, House of Representatives representing Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal constituency.
Others are Dr Augustine Ebisike, the pioneer Registrar of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria and Malam Hassan Sambo, head of Environmental Health department, Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Azare, Bauchi State.