SPEECH BY Dr. STEVE BWALYA MUKALULA, BOARD

CHAIRMAN OF WASTE MASTER ZAMBIA LIMITED AT

THE OFFICIAL OPENNING OF THE MEDICAL WASTE

MANAGEMENT TRAINING WORKSHOP HELD AT

LONGACRES LODGE , LUSAKA ON 26TH

-28TH

NOVEMBER 2015.

The Acting Director General of the Zambia Environmental

Management Agency

The Managing Director of Waste Master Zambia Limited

Ministry of Health Representative

Distinguished invited guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of Waste Master Limited, a Zambian company dealing

with medical waste disposal, I am pleased to welcome you to this

training workshop on medical waste management training

workshop.

Medical Waste Management has always been a global

environmental challenge. But an even greater challenge to the third

world countries like Zambia with limited disposal facilities.

In 2010 we hosted a workshop that focused on “cleaner

production and waste minimization”. This year we felt that the

concerns of medical waste management be addressed considering

the number of medical clinics, pharmaceutical companies,

veterinary clinics and laboratories that have sprang up in the

country as part of national development.

Medical Waste Management is an area of serious concern in

Zambia for both the health workers and the community at large.

Unfortunately this has not been addressed seriously by the

Government and other stakeholders to their mutual benefits.

Although the Government have provided limited medical waste

disposal facilities at its major hospitals such as the incinerator at

the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. More needs to be

done to address the medical waste management in the Country.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, provision of an effective and

safe medical waste disposal system is therefore important to ensure

that such waste does not end up in wrong disposal sites, hence it

becomes a health hazard to the medical workers and the

community to whom it’s exposed.

The major problem facing Zambia is that medical waste is

invariable mixed with municipal solid waste, all such waste ends

up at the municipal land fill tipping sites. This exposes scavengers

who ravage through the waste dumps for survival without realizing

there in, the risks of infections and diseases.

The Government of Zambia must do more to support ZEMA’s

efforts in terms of manpower. Establishment of bigger Inspectorate

Unit within ZEMA will allow the enforcement of waste

management practices and ensure that health workers and the

community are protected. Medical waste disposal methods would

cover the separation, collection, transportation and proper

treatment of the medical waste under environmentally sound

conditions. And it would ensure that risks and hazardous medical

waste on one hand and non-hazardous waste on the other would be

correctly identified and processed.

Fellow participants WMZ is also concerned that with the

prevailing and falling social economic conditions in most of our

institutions out there have a tendency to let medical and other

social services deteriorate to a level where product liability is

avoided at every opportunity. In such situation waste management

is invariably seen as being of no value and the tendency is mostly

to try and achieve it at the lowest cost at the risk of medical and

other healthcare providers.

This, ladies and gentlemen must not be allowed in this country.

Waste in all forms must be handled in a professional manner to

avoid risk of infections and disease.

Waste Master Limited would additionally like to see medical waste

management practices which would have producer responsibility.

This would imply that the producers, healthcare providers and

traders of medical products become responsible for the entire

product life which would include the waste that rises thereof.

May I at this juncture challenge the producers and marketers of

health care products to remain faithfully to their products till such

products are waste, and directly support waste management.

It is important that all stake holders are sufficiently sensitized on

the demands of the medical waste management in this country

which has hereto being given a back room position in our health

reforms.

The WMZ is concerned that there is no proper database at the

moment to show the policy makers the quantity and types of

medical waste being generated from the various medical

institutions so as to institute proper plans.

Our company is willing to work with the authorities to ensure that

the database is prepared and made available to all stakeholders.

The WMZ has on the drawing board proposals for a pilot project

on medical waste collection and disposal which once implemented

would initially cover the City of Lusaka, and later would be

replicated into other town.

The conference is going to address some of the aspects of such a

study.

This calls for the vigilance on the part of the ZEMA, MoH, the

HPCZ, health inspectors and factory inspectors for them to check

the waste management practices being used in our medical

institutions on a regular basis.

And since local and central government cannot cost effectively

manage such waste disposal system the private sector should

provide private waste management and disposal services to assist

the authorities, especially within the cities.

The challenge in the long term is for the private sector to assist the

local councils to set up communal incinerators which can be used

by all operators at a free.

Finally, I wish to assure all stakeholders that WMZ will always

support the development of proper and internationally accepted

standards of waste management practices in the Zambia.

Practices which endanger human life must always be condemned.

This conference is part of the efforts being made to address waste

management issues.

I wish to express special thanks to all institutions and individuals

that have responded to our invitation, and in particular to those that

have assisted us in the organization of the conference, Waste

Master Limited has organized this workshop with the support of

few partners that believes in proper waste management.

I wish to take this opportunity to appeal to all stakeholders and all

those interested in the furtherance of WMZ is operations to

consider strengthening our operations by giving us moral and other

support.

May I assure my fellow participants that WMZ is always at your

service to help your facilities meet their mandate in medical waste

disposal.

It is now my pleasure and honour to invite the Director General of

the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to

address us.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL