COVID-19 vaccination: Government to construct 14 treatment centres to manage medical waste

Government has indicated that it in talks with private investors for the establishment of 14 treatment centres nationwide for the proper disposal of medical waste in the country.

The move has been necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant vaccination exercise currently ongoing in Ghana.

Ghanaians are being vaccinated to help slow the spread of the virus among the population.

President Nana Akufo-Addo made the announcement while presenting his 2021 State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Tuesday.

This he said is being done to ensure the management of the hazardous waste after the vaccination exercise.

“Government is also mindful of the problem associated with vaccinations. And that is how we dispose of used PPE, vials, needles, and syringes that are being used in the vaccination exercise. The government is collaborating with the private sector 14 medical waste treatment facilities across the country to address once and for all the safe disposal of medical waste”, he said.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its vaccination will highly lead to the generation of tonnes of medical waste.

These wastes if not managed well could have adverse impacts on the environment.

Already, some waste management companies have expressed their readiness to handle medical wastes from the ongoing nationwide vaccination exercise to prevent further infections.

Vaccination exercise

Nana Akufo-Addo assured that the government is working hard towards realizing the goal of taking delivery of some 17, 600,000 vaccine doses by June 2021.

He said, “if we are to oversee the rebirth and growth of our economy, our people must be healthy, and not succumb to COVID-19.”

The President thus urged Members of the House to add their voices to the public education campaign currently ongoing the vaccination programme.

“The vaccine, together with strict compliance with the safety protocols, is what will allow us to open up our country again, and embark on the quest to restore normalcy to our lives and livelihoods”, he said.

On February 24, 2021, Ghana secured the first batch of vaccine doses from the COVAX facility.

The vaccination campaign is currently ongoing, with over 260,000 Ghanaians receiving the first dose of the vaccines as of today, March 9.

Ghana is targetting to vaccinate 20 million of its population.