19 November 2020
Not only technologies and innovation, our heart beats in Africa to reduce medical waste
In recent years, we have carried out international cooperation projects in Africa, with the aim of contributing to develop quality hospital waste management and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Thanks to the collaboration with Non governmental organizations and the Italian agency for Cooperation and Development, three projects have been launched in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Niger.
Our technology will be soon present in Mozambique
On February 4th 2020 another important project regarding waste in the city of Beira was officially started.
The Local entrepreneurship for disposal of healthcare waste in Beira, Mozambique project (SIRSU) received funds from the Italian agency for Cooperation and development through the second edition of the call for proposal addressed to the profit private sector called “ Innovative business initiatives to be admitted for co-financing and to be implemented in the cooperation partner countries for the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Our project partner, present in the field, is an italian Ngo CAM (Consortium of associations with Mozambique): from this collaboration a local service company for collection of infectious waste will be established, operating not only for the safeguard of the environment with a suitable treatment of hazardous healthcare waste, but at the same time will valorize people by creating specialized roles.
The project will contribute to the disposal of healthcare waste from 15 public health facilities, present in Beira and at least 5 private health facilities by reducing 40% the total amount of waste taken to the incinerator located at Beira’s Central Hospital. Formative and informative actions will also take place in the city of Nampula with the participation of another italian Ngo: Progettomondo.
It is an interesting and innovative collaboration between profit, non-profit and the public sector (Beira’s County Health management) also considering that the projects are funded by AICS for profit,an instrument included in law 125 dated 2014 which reformed Italy’s development cooperation, that are still very few.
The arrival of the container
The installation cordinated by our engineer Enrico Catapano
A sterilization center at Luisa Guidotti Hospital Zimbabwe
The heart of this project is a story of friendship and ties with our city, Rimini.
The “Luisa Guidotti” Hospital is located 170 km from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe at the “All Souls Catholic Mission” of Mutoko.
In 1966 Dr Luisa Guidotti traveled to Zimbabwe. In 1968 Dr Marilena Pesaresi, a native of Rimini the same town where we are located, started working with Dr Guidotti. In the last decades the Hospital has grown, gone are the huts replaced by buildings in cement with a 150 bed capacity serving thousands of people living in the surrounding villages. In 2010 Dr Massimo Migani, another Rimini native, joins Dr Pesaresi in Mutoko.
The tie between Mutoko and Rimini is tight. In 2018 Andrea Bascucci, meets Dr Migani in Rimini, while talking about the Luisa Guidotti Hospital in Mutoko an idea for an eco-sustainable solution for the treatment of their hospital waste is born.
In November 2018 we shipped a NW5 unit for the treatment of solid HCW to Mutoko.
The trip will be long and finally in March 2019 all is ready for the installation.
The 20” container where the NW5 unit will be installed arrives and is placed on it’s cement base and readied with the opening of 4 windows and a ventilated roof plus connection to electricity and water supply.
From March 8 to 16, 2019 our engineer Enrico Catapano was in Mutoko to follow the final preparation of the container and the installation of the NW5.
Two operators were trained during Enrico’s stay to run the unit and carry out ordinary maintenance and an electrician.
The hospital staff already carries out waste separation in the wards. The facility works mainly according to day hospital procedures with between 50 and 60 accesses per day. Electricity and water supply are variable especially in the late afternoon.
Since Enrico has returned to Italy 3 to 4 cycles are carried out per day to treat the hospital’s medical waste and all is going smoothly.
Activation of an innovative entrepreneurial initiative that favors the treatment of hospital waste in Niger
Together with the Italian agency for Cooperation and development, a pilot project for the spread of methodology of healthcare waste treatment in sub-Saharan Africa has been implemented.
One of the expected results of the projects concerns the creation of jobs and training of hospital staff.
Another important result is signing agreements with the Regional Hospital Center (CHR) and at least one international NGO operating in the health sector.
Our project partners in this project are CSME - Centre de Santé de la Mère et de l’Enfant (Struttura sanitaria Health center) and CPSP - Centre Privé de Santé Publique (Centro di formazione e abilitazione per la professione Training and qualification center).
Starting from the Health Center for Mother and Child of Agadez (CSME), the creation of a chain of management of hospital waste with potential for expansion over the whole sub-Saharan region.
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