National Activity Palestine

Providing technical assistance on sustainable management of medical waste, at the request of the Environment Quality Authority (EQA) of Palestine: this is the project 'Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Southern Neighbourhood region' that ran from May 2021 to September 2023.
The objective of this initiative was to provide technical support for the updating of the Sanitary Waste Management Master Plan and the formulation of measures for a contingency plan to sustainably address crises such as epidemics, conflicts, earthquakes and pandemics.

The collection, transport, treatment and disposal of medical waste is a major environmental challenge against the potential presence of infectious agents, risky for both the environment and human health.
All objectives of the activity were met. This was secured because the activities were conducted in close collaboration and coordination with the Environment Quality Authority that plays a pivotal role in formulating solid waste management strategies, setting standards, and overseeing their implementation.

The following activities were successfully conducted

1. Compilation of an inception Report that helped to identify current priorities, barriers and challenges for the proper management of medical waste
2. Update of the Master Plan for Healthcare Waste Management based on the inception report and exchanges with the beneficiaries. This update included a road map with short- and medium-term actions to implement the plan in steps, with emphasis on the coming 3-5 years.
3. Proposition of a set of measures to develop a contingency plan for medical waste management.
4. Consultation with stakeholders to discuss the results of the previous tasks and confirm the topic of a training workshop to address some of the identified needs.
5. Organization of a second Consultation and of a Training Workshop on priority issues.
6. Finalization of the updated Master Plan which was presented in Ramallah just before the training workshop and translation into Arabic. An additional arising need for the drafting of an inspection checklist to facilitate inspectors was also addressed by the WES experts.
7. Compilation of a Synthesis Report

Learn more: https://shorturl.at/dtAS7