Abstract:
Healthcare waste (HCW) has become one of critical concerns in the developing countries
constitutes a special category of waste, potentially contain harmful materials. The
inappropriate handling and disposal of HCW pose health risks such as hepatitis viruses and
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to healthcare providers who may be directly exposed,
people near health facilities, children and scavengers.
Waste-generation data must be used with caution because of the wide variability even
within a country and the many factors that influence the rates. In middle and low income
countries, HCW generation rate according to national income level is usually lower than that
in high income countries.
In Sudan, many health concerns are competing for limited resources, so it is not surprising
that the management of HCW has received far less attention than the priority it deserves.
Unfortunately, studies on the public health implications of inadequate management of HCW
are very few and limited in scope. The present study aims at assessing the HCW management
practices and HCW generation rate at the main hospitals in White Nile State, Sudan, which
have not been studied before.
The study main results showed that HCW management practices were not applied
according to the requirements of the WHO regulation. The average of domestic waste is 1.35,
1.2, and 1.03 kg/patient/day in Kosti, Rabak, and Eduiem hospital respectively, while the
average of clinical waste is 0.4, 0.5, and 0.48 kg/patient in Kosti, Rabak, and Eduiem hospital
respectively.
