The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of China have jointly launched a partnership project with the Department of Health (DOH) to assist the Philippines in improving the health waste management system in the country.

The UNDP, which has started working on health care waste management since 2009, will lead the initiative in coordination with the DOH and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

UNDP Philippines Resident Representative Selva Ramachandran said the issue of medical waste management, especially infectious medical waste, remains one of the most critical challenges towards a better health system and green recovery in the developing regions as the world transition from health emergency response due to the COVID-19 pandemic to recovery.

In Asia and the Pacific, the UNDP official noted that the continuous rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus is putting pressure on countries’ health systems as they hit capacity limits earlier than those in developed countries.

“This is UNDP’s first partnership in the Philippines with the Government of China. And with this regional initiative, we are hopeful to improve the Philippines’ response to COVID-19 in the areas of medical waste management and preparedness effectively by way of providing medical resources and capacity building to our health care institutions,” Ramachandran said during the virtual launch on August 13, 2021.

The DOH, in coordination with the National Task Force Against COVID-19, other line agencies, and concerned Local Government Units (LGUs) said the effort to improve the healthcare waste management of the country’s COVID-19 response will protect Filipinos from the risks and hazards of exposure to rising healthcare wastes.

In an April 2020 study, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated that in Metro Manila alone, around 280 tons per day of additional medical wastes will be generated.

In response, the Philippine government released an updated Health Care Waste Management Manual, issuing various guidelines regarding medical waste handling, transportation, treatment, and disposal, as well as conducting capacity building on medical waste management to health care staff and working closely with stakeholders on policy implementation.

Funded by Beijing’s South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said the project exemplifies China’s firmness in sharing its experience to help the Asia-Pacific Region cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The implementation of this project in the Philippines will pivot on improving the Philippines’ ability of medical waste management by equipping some hospitals with advanced medical waste treatment facilities and training resources,” Huang said.

He expressed hope that the joint efforts of UNDP and China will help the Philippines “tackle challenges, tide over difficulties, and win the fight against the pandemic at an earlier date”.

During the launch, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto acknowledged that his city currently does not have the capacity to treat medical waste especially the infectious ones that have been accumulated over the past months due to the pandemic.

Pasig City runs several public hospitals in which one of them has been converted to a COVID-19 referral facility.

As part of the project, mobile autoclaves will be set up in two public hospitals or quarantine facilities while equipment and operation training sessions will be provided to both medical and non-medical hospital staff.

In addition, the UNDP said medical waste characterization, a management study, and the development of a long-term resilience plan will support the Philippines in crafting strategic interventions based on evidence.