China funds $907,112 medical waste management project in Nepal (linked to project ID#96431, 96973, 96974, 96976)

On August 6, 2021 the Chinese government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly announced a $907,112 medical waste management program in Nepal. The project was funded by South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF) and the UNDP was a partner agency. This project was part of a larger donation of $5 million for medical waste management in five countries: the Philippines (project ID#96431), Myanmar (project ID#96973), Cambodia (project ID#96974), Nepal, and Laos (project ID#96976). To implement the project, the UNDP worked with the Department of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Population of Government of Nepal and with seven COVID designated hospitals across the country, including Koshi Hospital, Biratnagar; Narayani Hospital, Birgunj; Janakpur Hospital, Janakpurdham; Shree Birendra Hospital, Chhauni; Rapti Provincial Hospital, Tulsipur; and Bheri Hospital, Nepalgunj. 350 healthcare professionals were provided with the required technical skill-set for proper management of healthcare waste. Additionally, 100 officials from the local government were trained on better handling of health emergencies. The initiative worked to increase the public’s knowledge and preparedness of medical waste management by developing Public Service Announcements in various local languages in Nepal. Youth volunteers from 300 urban and rural municipalities were mobilized to conduct an online campaign to raise awareness on this important issue. On September 22, 2021, China and the UNDP handed over medical and waste-management related supplies to the Rapti Provincial Hospital, in Tulsipur, Dang. The project will contribute to providing technical and logistical support on establishing safe health care waste management system in the selected health care facility to contain the epidemic and protect the environment. This initiative used 82.87% of the total funds allocated to Nepal. Providing advocacy, information sharing, and communication support on COVID-19 to the poor population and vulnerable groups took 9.74% of the budget, and providing training courses to the targeted groups used 4.82% of the budget. Finally, cost of communication and visibility of the project at local level took 2.57% of the funds. 71.23% of the budget was used for equipment procurement, while 17.91% was used for technical support and training.

Number of official sources

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Number of total sources

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