Afrigather Kampala. Uganda’s Ministry of Well being (MOH), in collaboration with Ministry of Water and Setting (MoWE), with help from the World Well being Group (WHO) and United Nations Setting Program (UNEP) organized a stakeholders’ inception assembly in Kampala for the International Setting Facility (GEF) mission on phasing out mercury-containing units in Uganda’s healthcare settings.
Uganda is likely one of the 5 international locations implementing the five-year GEF mission aimed toward supporting nationwide well being system-wide methods for phasing out importation and use of mercury containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers (blood-pressure measurement units) in well being services. The mission intends to part out mercury-added medical measuring units at a price of 20 % per 12 months.
Mercury is extremely poisonous to people and ecosystems and is taken into account by WHO, as one of many prime ten chemical substances of main public well being concern. Publicity to mercury can result in extreme well being points, together with neurological and developmental injury, notably in susceptible populations resembling pregnant ladies and youngsters. Analysis suggests that each particular person on the earth has been uncovered to some degree of mercury by way of inhalation of elemental mercury vapors.
WHO is the executing company for the GEF mission, with focused technical inputs from UNEP world mercury partnership. Ministry of Well being and the Ministry of Water and Setting shall lead the mission coordination and administration.
“WHO is dedicated to elevating consciousness and understanding of the risks of mercury publicity to susceptible populations and advocate for a phase-out of mercury-containing measuring units from healthcare. This may cut back the potential for mercury publicity and enhance healthcare waste administration,” stated Dr. Suraj Man Shrestha, on behalf of the WHO Consultant to Uganda.
In healthcare settings, mercury-containing units which are broadly used to diagnose sickness and monitor therapy, pose a risk within the occasion of breakage as mercury can escape into the setting the place it vaporizes, exposing healthcare staff, sufferers, and their caregivers to dangerous fumes. The waste generated may contaminate the realm of the spill, in addition to a facility’s wastewater. As well as, the waste poses a risk when long-term protected disposal just isn’t thought of. A survey performed by NEMA in October 2021 in 38 services throughout Uganda recommended that solely 25.7% of those services discarded mercury containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers to licensed waste administration operators for disposal.
“The promotion to be used of protected, mercury-free alternate options, coupled with applicable disposal of mercury containing units presents a sustainable resolution to this public well being risk,” stated Dr. Herbert Nabaasa, the commissioner Division of Environmental Well being, Ministry of Well being Uganda
Mercury publicity is completely preventable with protected and efficient mercury-free alternate options like switching to non-mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers in healthcare as adopted in the course of the Minamata Conference on Mercury in 2013. The conference suggested member states to additionally implement protected dealing with, use, and disposal of mercury-containing merchandise and waste in alignment to WHO suggestions. Research have proven that sure digital thermometers could be as much as one-third cheaper than their mercury equivalents when contemplating your complete lifecycle of each devices, all whereas sustaining the identical degree of medical accuracy.
