A regional workshop on environmental health in health care facilities with special focus on medical waste was organized by the World Health Organization Regional Centre for Environmental Health Action in Amman, Jordan, from 12 to 14 June 2012.
The meeting was attended by participants from Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, occupied Palestinian territory, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen, in addition to occupational and environmental health experts from WHO headquarters and WHO temporary advisers from Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
The objectives of the workshop were to:
- draw attention to the burden of diseases related to environmental health and occupational health in health care facilities in the Region;
- highlight the importance of ensuring environmental health and occupational health in maintaining patient safety and infection control and prevention, and providing safe workplaces for health care workers;
- emphasize the importance of “greening” health care;
- discuss proposed elements in the development of a strategic framework for environmental health and related occupational health in health care facilities in the Region and set priorities for low-, middle- and high-income settings;
- discuss and set key indicators for monitoring and evaluating the performance of health care waste management systems and related occupational health in health care facilities in the Region; and
- facilitate an exchange of experiences between regional and international environmental health and occupational health experts.