According to the United Nations Basel Convention on Environment, “Waste are substances or objects, which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the provision of national law. It is therefore necessary for there to be proper management of medical waste to in order to ensure healthier environment and people.
The Managing Director, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) Mr. Ola Oresanya stated this at the 2013 edition of the National Healthcare Waste Management Summit held in Lagos.
The theme of the event was‘Healthcare Waste Management and the Environment’.
The Managing Director, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) Mr. Ola Oresanya
Mr. Oresanya explained that wastes goes beyond just disposal when it comes to healthcare waste. “The elements of proper waste management have to be applied due to its delicate and hazardous nature. Healthcare wastes has a peculiar nature because they are not regular materials at dumb sites. When seen, people and even waste handlers tend to mishandle it thereby exposing themselves to the hazards inherent in them like injuries and infections”.
He revealed that in 2005, a seven year-old boy in Ketu was found playing around with used syringes which was found to have been indiscriminately disposed at a refuse dump, also in 2011 three hospital were shut-down in the Orile area of Lagos due to their indiscriminate healthcare waste disposal.
Mr. Oresanya stressed that LAWMA would continue to ensure that medical waste from hospitals and diagnostic laboratories were being properly managed at all levels in the state.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Environment, Mr. Tunji Bellowho in his speech said th
The event included an Institutional Awards Presentations to several medical institutions in Lagos state including Premier Specialist Hospital Victoria Island, Nigerian Navy Medical Centre Navy Town Ojo, General Hospital Apapa and the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA).
Dr. (Mrs.) Adeola Eko-Pacheco the only recipient of an individual award, received
Best Medical Private Sector Participation (PSP) Manager. Dr. Eko-Pacheco applauded LAWMA for its consistent advocacy on proper waste management and rated the agency high on its healthcare waste initiatives.
The National Healthcare Waste Management Summit is an annual event where stakeholders in the health sector come together, to map out ways to ensure standard practice is maintained and to award
###########################
Share this
