In a busy dental clinic, a dentist rigorously prepares a dental amalgam, a standard materials used for fillings. This amalgam, a mix of metals together with mercury, has been broadly utilized in dental practices for many years as a result of its sturdiness and cost-effectiveness.
Nevertheless, the very mercury that helps restore smiles, poses a silent but potent menace to human well being and the surroundings. Acknowledged by the World Well being Group (WHO) as one of many high ten chemical compounds of main public well being concern, mercury’s dangerous presence and continued use in well being care settings requires pressing and strategic motion.
In response, WHO and the United Nations Setting Program (UNEP) have launched into a transformative journey via the International Setting Facility (GEF) venture, piloted in 5 nations, together with Uganda. The five-year GEF venture seeks to eradicate uncontrolled launch of mercury from mercury containing sphygmomanometers (blood strain measuring units) and thermometers in healthcare settings, thereby safeguarding each human and environmental well being. This formidable venture is guided by the experience of the UNEP International mercury partnership and overseen by devoted steering committees at each international and nationwide ranges.
In Uganda, Ministry of Well being (MOH) and the Ministry of Water and Setting (MoWE), alongside the Nationwide Setting Administration Authority (NEMA), are the main authorities entities for the venture. Their collaborative efforts will foster a tradition of security inside healthcare settings.
By means of this initiative, WHO is devoted to defending these most in danger, resembling youngsters and pregnant ladies, from the dangerous results of mercury. We’re dedicated to making a future the place each our well being and the surroundings are protected and thriving,” stated Dr. Suraj Man Shrestha, Programme Administration Officer at WHO Uganda. “By eradicating mercury from medical units, we goal to make sure that healthcare settings are safer for everybody and that our surroundings is free from poisonous pollution.”
Two pilot well being amenities within the nation will profit from substitution of mercury medical units with mercury-free ones. These embody a public and a personal not for revenue well being facility. In April 2025, a crew comprising WHO Uganda nation workplace, Ministry of Well being, and NEMA staffs visited the 2 pilot amenities—Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in southwestern Uganda and St. Francis Hospital, Nsambya in Kampala—to determine the amount of mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers to get replaced with mercury-free units. The crew plans to go to Luweero Industries’ storage facility in Nakasongola district to determine procedures for storing mercury waste from the pilot amenities.
Info from these processes can be used to tell the nationwide stock and scenario evaluation to be carried out later this 12 months. As well as, the evaluation will information the nation on the prices related to substitution, storage and last disposal of mercury containing medical units in well being amenities throughout Uganda.
“On the entire, the venture plans to section out mercury-added medical measuring units at a fee of 20% per 12 months throughout the 5 years, stated Maureen Nyonyintono, the WHO Uganda venture focal individual. “By means of collaborative efforts with MoH, MoWE and key stakeholders, the venture has integrated the Minamata Conference provisions for mercury and acceptable waste administration into the nationwide environmental technique.”
As Uganda strikes in the direction of a future with out mercury, the mixed efforts of WHO, UNEP, and nationwide companions convey hope and energy to the nation. Every mercury system that’s changed with a safer various marks a major step in the direction of defending the well being of Ugandans and preserving the surroundings. This journey in the direction of a mercury-free Uganda is a testomony to the facility of collaboration and dedication to a more healthy, safer tomorrow.