Philippines Measles Eradication Campaign (PMEC)
HCWH-Asia believes that it’s possible to do a national health campaign without spreading dangerous waste. Case in point: the organization’s Philippines Measles Eradication Campaign (PMEC).
Immunization is vital to preventing disease and saving lives. However, large-scale vaccination programs can create enormous amounts of waste. Often, this waste is burned openly. Sometimes, donors build cheap, improvised incinerators, which are used to burn syringes and other waster materials. This activity dumps dioxins into the air, and negates any health advantage that the vaccination programs impart.
In 2004, we collaborated with the Philippine Department of Health (DOH), in association with the World Health Organization (WHO), to demonstrate viable alternatives to burning waste. As a result, the Philippines became the first country to deal with waste from a nationwide vaccination program without resorting to incineration or open burning.
The follow-up to PMEC targeted an estimated 18 million children during the month of February 2004. In a little over a month, the PMEC generated an estimated 19.5 million syringes, collected in 162,000 safety boxes, amounting to about 810,000 liters, or 130,000 kg, of sharps waste. Also produced were an additional 740,000 liters, or 72,000 kg, of non-hazardous waste such as empty vaccine vials and ampoules, and syringe wrappers.
The PMEC Report
To learn more about the ground-breaking campaign, read:
Executive Summary of our report: Disposal of Mass Immunization Waste Without Incineration, (6pp, pdf)
Full report: Waste Management and Disposal During the Philippine Follow-Up Measles Campaign 2004 (112pp, pdf)