Yemen improperly disposes 57 tons of medical waste each day [Archives:2008/1127/Local News]

By: Hamed Thabet
SANA'A, Feb. 6 ) Yemen disposes 57 tons of bio-hazardous waste each day, but like most other developing countries, little attention is paid to medical and healthcare waste management.

Yemen has no medical waste management system in place and its current practices can lead to the transmitting of infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B and C, or even HIV, according to the Ministry of Health and Population and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The risk of infecting medical staff and garbage collectors is even greater than the risk of infecting the public. Instead of dumping the waste in a proper landfill, Yemen burns the waste in an open landfill in Al-Azraqeen, in Sana'a. This practice causes health problems and environmental pollution.

“Around 90 percent of Yemeni people are carrying hepatitis