ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA), responding a letter written by the Climate Change Secretary Muhammad Arif Khan, has decided to constitute a committee to dispose of hospital waste.
The committee will be comprised of the officials from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration, CDA, Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and hospitals representatives.
This decision was taken during a meeting convened by Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Secretary Khalid Habib here on Wednesday in the backdrop of a letter written by the Climate Change Secretary Muhammad Arif Khan on March 2 in which he had expressed grave concerns about hospital waste management.
Pak-EPA had also opposed opening new hospitals, clinics and laboratories unless they had proper waste management systems and controls in place. City administrators also expressed concerns based on the Pak-EPA report.
According to the report, around 80 per cent of public and private hospitals, clinics and laboratories do not own or have access to incinerators. Consequently, medical waste is disposed improperly, creating an unnecessary health risk for citizens of Islamabad and nearby areas.
