1. SPEECH BY Dr. STEVE BWALYA MUKALULA, BOARD
CHAIRMAN OF WASTE MASTER ZAMBIA LIMITED AT
THE OFFICIAL OPENNING OF THE MEDICAL WASTE
MANAGEMENT TRAINING WORKSHOP HELD AT
LONGACRES LODGE , LUSAKA ON 26TH
-28TH
NOVEMBER 2015.
The Acting Director General of the Zambia Environmental
Management Agency
The Managing Director of Waste Master Zambia Limited
Ministry of Health Representative
Distinguished invited guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of Waste Master Limited, a Zambian company dealing
with medical waste disposal, I am pleased to welcome you to this
training workshop on medical waste management training
workshop.
Medical Waste Management has always been a global
environmental challenge. But an even greater challenge to the third
world countries like Zambia with limited disposal facilities.
In 2010 we hosted a workshop that focused on “cleaner
production and waste minimization”. This year we felt that the
concerns of medical waste management be addressed considering
the number of medical clinics, pharmaceutical companies,
veterinary clinics and laboratories that have sprang up in the
country as part of national development.
Medical Waste Management is an area of serious concern in
Zambia for both the health workers and the community at large.
Unfortunately this has not been addressed seriously by the
Government and other stakeholders to their mutual benefits.
Although the Government have provided limited medical waste
disposal facilities at its major hospitals such as the incinerator at

2. the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. More needs to be
done to address the medical waste management in the Country.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, provision of an effective and
safe medical waste disposal system is therefore important to ensure
that such waste does not end up in wrong disposal sites, hence it
becomes a health hazard to the medical workers and the
community to whom it’s exposed.
The major problem facing Zambia is that medical waste is
invariable mixed with municipal solid waste, all such waste ends
up at the municipal land fill tipping sites. This exposes scavengers
who ravage through the waste dumps for survival without realizing
there in, the risks of infections and diseases.
The Government of Zambia must do more to support ZEMA’s
efforts in terms of manpower. Establishment of bigger Inspectorate
Unit within ZEMA will allow the enforcement of waste
management practices and ensure that health workers and the
community are protected. Medical waste disposal methods would
cover the separation, collection, transportation and proper
treatment of the medical waste under environmentally sound
conditions. And it would ensure that risks and hazardous medical
waste on one hand and non-hazardous waste on the other would be
correctly identified and processed.
Fellow participants WMZ is also concerned that with the
prevailing and falling social economic conditions in most of our
institutions out there have a tendency to let medical and other
social services deteriorate to a level where product liability is
avoided at every opportunity. In such situation waste management
is invariably seen as being of no value and the tendency is mostly
to try and achieve it at the lowest cost at the risk of medical and
other healthcare providers.

3. This, ladies and gentlemen must not be allowed in this country.
Waste in all forms must be handled in a professional manner to
avoid risk of infections and disease.
Waste Master Limited would additionally like to see medical waste
management practices which would have producer responsibility.
This would imply that the producers, healthcare providers and
traders of medical products become responsible for the entire
product life which would include the waste that rises thereof.
May I at this juncture challenge the producers and marketers of
health care products to remain faithfully to their products till such
products are waste, and directly support waste management.
It is important that all stake holders are sufficiently sensitized on
the demands of the medical waste management in this country
which has hereto being given a back room position in our health
reforms.
The WMZ is concerned that there is no proper database at the
moment to show the policy makers the quantity and types of
medical waste being generated from the various medical
institutions so as to institute proper plans.
Our company is willing to work with the authorities to ensure that
the database is prepared and made available to all stakeholders.
The WMZ has on the drawing board proposals for a pilot project
on medical waste collection and disposal which once implemented
would initially cover the City of Lusaka, and later would be
replicated into other town.
The conference is going to address some of the aspects of such a
study.

4. This calls for the vigilance on the part of the ZEMA, MoH, the
HPCZ, health inspectors and factory inspectors for them to check
the waste management practices being used in our medical
institutions on a regular basis.
And since local and central government cannot cost effectively
manage such waste disposal system the private sector should
provide private waste management and disposal services to assist
the authorities, especially within the cities.
The challenge in the long term is for the private sector to assist the
local councils to set up communal incinerators which can be used
by all operators at a free.
Finally, I wish to assure all stakeholders that WMZ will always
support the development of proper and internationally accepted
standards of waste management practices in the Zambia.
Practices which endanger human life must always be condemned.
This conference is part of the efforts being made to address waste
management issues.
I wish to express special thanks to all institutions and individuals
that have responded to our invitation, and in particular to those that
have assisted us in the organization of the conference, Waste
Master Limited has organized this workshop with the support of
few partners that believes in proper waste management.
I wish to take this opportunity to appeal to all stakeholders and all
those interested in the furtherance of WMZ is operations to
consider strengthening our operations by giving us moral and other
support.
May I assure my fellow participants that WMZ is always at your
service to help your facilities meet their mandate in medical waste
disposal.

5. It is now my pleasure and honour to invite the Director General of
the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to
address us.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL