Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

MEDICAL WASTE IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF BANGLADESH, ITS CAUSES AND IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Kudrat-e-Khuda (Babu), Razoana Moslam, Md. Abu Bakar Siddik, 3Md. Ahsan Ullah and Moriom Akter Mou

Abstract

Medical waste is not only infectious, it is hazardous too. It causes deaths and poses serious threats to the environment. So the medical waste needs to be treated properly before its final disposal. But, due to the absence of a proper health care system in Bangladesh, numerous hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centers have sprung up elsewhere in Dhaka city and produce a huge amount of waste daily. Medical waste of those hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centers is dumped elsewhere without proper treatment, thanks to the mismanagement and lack of discipline, causing a serious threat to the health and environment. As well as there is no supervision and guidance for proper treatment of the waste, there have been no enough data or research work on the very critical issue in Bangladesh. Moreover, the overall situation has worsened due to various issues including lack of interest and awareness in medical waste management, unhealthy waste management, lack of specific laws and policies to address the issue.However, the authorities concerned are yet to take any measures in this regard despite such an alarming situation. The existing environmental laws are not enough to address the issue of not having specific provisions in the laws. Besides implementation of those legal frameworks is largely absent in the country. This paper aims to find out the existing practice of medical waste management; the types and amount of waste generated by the healthcare service providers; causes of medical waste; existing problems; and analyze the impacts of the waste on human health and the environment. Besides, this paper will analyze the related policies and find out the gaps. This study will also come up with some recommendations to bring an end to the mismanagement of medical waste generation through policy and law. Secondary data, i.e. books, articles, different national and international laws, acts, etc. have been used in this paper.