DUQUE TO ERMITA: RELEASE 100M FUND FOR MED WASTE TREATMENT

June 10, 2009

DUQUE TO ERMITA: RELEASE 100M FUND FOR MED WASTE TREATMENT

Amidst protest against Charter Change, rising number of A(H1N1) confirmed cases and the perennial problems posed by dengue and other infectious diseases, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III today pressed Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita to effect release of the P100 million allocation for purchase of 16 medical waste treatment autoclaves.

The P100 million in the budget of the Department of Health (DoH) for the purchase of autoclaves for medical waste treatment is a budget item under the 2008 General Appropriations Act (Republic Act 9498).

In a letter sent to Ermita, Duque said “the release of said fund would enable these hospitals to treat regulated medical waste in accordance with national policies on health care waste management and redound to the benefit and welfare of the Filipino people.”

Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia, on the other hand, lauds this move by the Health department saying “it will not veer away the department from addressing the rising incidents of A(H1N1).

According to Merci Ferrer, Executive Director of HCWH-SEA, “management of infectious waste remains a crucial and yet unaddressed issue in A(H1N1) and other infectious diseases.

“The autoclaves for the 16 DoH-run hospitals are needed to dispose of potentially infectious waste from the virus,” she said. To date, the Philippines has 54 confirmed cases of A(H1N1).

“In the absence of a waste disinfection treatment like autoclave, people will continuously be exposed to pathogens like H1N1. Especially since a large part of the country’s medical waste ends up in dumpsites that remain open to scavengers despite laws and regulations to the contrary.”

HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH-Southeast Asia, see www.noharm.org.

Attached is a copy of Sec. Dugue’s letter and the list of 16 recipient hospitals.

Contact:
Sonia G. Astudillo, Communications Officer, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org
Merci Ferrer, Executive Director, +63 9209056113, merci@hcwh.org