The Philippine Healthcare and Mercury Wastes Management Project (HCW Project), led by the DENR–Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and BAN Toxics, visited three hospitals in Mindanao to engage potential partners in the regions of Northern Mindanao, CARAGA, and Davao.
Joined by representatives from the DENR–Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Service (FASPS) and EMB regional offices, the project team met with hospital officials at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro and the Caraga Regional Hospital in Surigao City on April 28, and at the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City on April 30. The visits included an orientation on the project’s objectives and components, as well as an ocular inspection of the hospitals’ waste management facilities. The hospitals, in turn, shared insights on their healthcare waste management practices, including current challenges and best practices.
Findings from the visits will be submitted to the HCW Project Inter-Agency Technical Working Group (IATWG), which will provide recommendations to the Project Steering Committee (PSC) for final approval. The PSC, composed of representatives from the DENR-EMB, DENR-FASPS, Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), is scheduled to convene in the third quarter of this year.
The HCW Project aims to improve healthcare waste management in the country, with a special focus on reducing the release and emissions of hazardous substances from healthcare waste. Implemented by UNIDO and the DENR-EMB, the project receives funding support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with BAN Toxics serving as the executing partner.
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