Overall, 80 per cent of surveyed city corporations/municipalities do not have treatment facilities for treating medical waste, according to the latest study.
The study, conducted by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), also revealed that all the surveyed city corporations and 77 per cent of the municipalities have no separate budget allocation for medical waste management.
Only 23 per cent of municipalities spend Tk 0.1 million- Tk 0.8 million (US$ 970 - US$ 7800 approx.) annually on medical waste management, the study titled ‘Governance Challenges in Medical Waste Management and Way Out’ finds.
But, depending on the category of the municipality, medical waste management requires Tk 1.0 million- Tk 5.0 million (US$ 9,800 - US$ 48,000) annually.
The findings of the study were released at a virtual press conference, organised by TIB on Tuesday.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, among others, was present at the event.
Md. Newazul Moula, Research Fellow, Climate Finance Governance, R&P, TIB and Md. Shahidul Islam, Research Associate, Climate Finance Governance, R&P, TIB, who were the team members of the study, presented the findings at the programme.
Bangladesh generates the second highest amount of medical waste among Southeast Asian countries, as per the study.
Terming the poor management of this harmful waste in the country, the study said a syndicate is selling this unrefined and harmful medical waste in the market.
Anarchy is going on in medical waste management in the country, it said.
TIB in the study also found corruption and irregularity in medical waste management.
Besides, hospitals cannot afford to purchase modern technology like ETPs and incinerators due to budget deficits, according to the study.
However, hospitals do not use ETPs, incinerators, autoclaves, and other waste treatment and destruction devices with an excuse of extra electricity bills, it stated.
Speaking at the event, Dr Iftekharuzzaman said medical waste management is an important area of the environment and public health.
Due to the lack of adequate and effective management of medical waste (identification and segregation, collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal), environmental pollution, outbreaks of infectious diseases and health risks to relevant stakeholders and citizens is increasing, he added.
