POST 00699E : VACCINATION WITH NO SYRINGE BURNED 21 July 2004
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Jorge Emmanuel (mailto:[email protected]) is circulating this
press release concerning syringe disposal without incineration during a
measles follow-up campaign. He is one of the authors of the mentioned
report. For those on a slow connection, please note that the full report is
particularly heavy.
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MAJOR LEAP FORWARD IN INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION: MILLIONS VACCINATED WITH
NO SYRINGES BURNED
New report about safe disposal of syringes to be released at DC meeting of
top immunization groups, governments
July 8, 2004 -- In a first-of-its-kind demonstration in the world, Health
Care Without Harm (HCWH) and the Philippine Department of Health (DOH)
teamed up to show it is possible to vaccinate millions of children and
safely dispose of all the syringes without polluting the air by burning them.
The Philippine Follow-up Measles Campaign 2004, conducted during the month
of February, provided measles vaccines to about 18 million children in the
Philippines, and generated an estimated 19.5 million auto-disable syringes.
The used syringes were collected in safety boxes and treated in autoclave
or microwave facilities, buried in waste pits or encased in concrete
vaults. Needle destruction technologies were also used in some areas.
"The Philippine Measles Campaign experience is the largest mass
immunization program that handled its medical waste without any
incineration or open burning," said Philippine Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit.
Due to health and environmental concerns, in 1999 the Philippines became
the first country to ban the burning of all waste, including medical waste.
It is now the first country to deal with waste from a nationwide
vaccination program without resorting to incineration or open burning.
A report of the project was presented on July 8 at the Washington DC
conference of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), a
partnership of governments, vaccine manufacturers, NGOs, research
institutes, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and the World Bank.
"Immunization programs are expanding around the world, which is a good
thing. But we need to make sure we don't solve one health problem by
creating new health problems," said Merci Ferrer, HCWH Asia Coordinator.
"Burning medical waste is bad for people. Incineration pollutes the air
with dioxin, a known human carcinogen, and other harmful toxins such as
mercury and lead. This project proves there are safer ways to handle the
waste."
This report is timely with the launch of the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants, which entered into force in May."Under the
Stockholm Convention, countries must reduce and ultimately eliminate
pollutants such as dioxins, which are formed by burning medical waste,"
said report author Jorge Emmanuel.
The 112-page report, "Waste Management and Disposal During the Philippine
Follow-Up Measles Campaign 2004," is available at
http://www.noharm.org/pressroom/reports.cfm . Copies can be obtained from
Health Care Without Harm, 1755 S. Street, NW, Suite 6B, Washington, DC
20009; (202) 234-0091 or from Firuzeh Mahmoudi at mailto:[email protected] .
A six-page executive summary is found at
http://www.nohamr.org/details.cfm?type=document&ID=925
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