Immunization Focus - the GAVI quarterly

UPDATE - March 2002

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Dangerous trade: children queue up at a garbage dump in southest Asia to scavenge for used syringes.

Putting injection waste out of harm’s way

By 2003, in line with WHO and UNICEF injection safety policy, all countries’ immunization programmes should have shifted to using auto-disable (AD) syringes – with some 400 million to be supplied worldwide by UNICEF during the year. Although immunizations account for only 5% of all injections given worldwide, the new policy has highlighted the need for safe disposal of all injection waste. Below, Mark Haltmeier and other members of a WHO mission to assess healthcare waste disposal in Côte d’Ivoire highlight the importance for success of having a clear policy, knowledge and sustainable means. Alongside their article, our ’reports from the sharp end’ in Cambodia, India and West Africa describe three practical solutions in 2002.

Healthcare waste management: there are solutions by Mark Haltmeier and others

Reports from the sharp end

Cambodia: safe, non-polluting incinerators
India: an environmentally sustainable solution in a crowded country
West Africa: small, locally built incinerators

WHO advice and resources

Immunization Focus March 2002 - Contents