The County Government of Kakamega has commissioned medical waste microwave equipment that will incinerate medical waste from all hospitals in the County.
Speaking during the commissioning at Kakamega County General Hospital, Deputy Governor Prof Philip Kutima said the plant can shred and microwave 400kg of waste per hour and clear 60 tons of waste per month.
He said this will save the County Ksh 32 million annually which could have been spent to dispose medical waste as per NEMA 2012 guidelines.
“All health facilities within Kakamega both public and private will be required to bring medical waste for treatment to this facility before disposal,” said Prof Kutima.
He noted that the County is developing a health care waste policy that will provide framework in operationalization of waste treatment and disposal which will include charges, disposal, maintenance and human resource.
Prof Kutima said the county was committed to ensuring sustainability of the plant adding that the county will engage in further deliberations and forge a Public Private Partnership to enable smooth running of the plant through funding and resource mobilization.
Dr Collins Matemba CECM for Health Services thanked the National Government for the collaboration with the County Government of Kakamega for enabling the set up of the plant which he termed as a game changer in the health sector.
“We endeavor to manage this facility well as it will make our environment safe and free from dangerous medical waste,” said Dr Matemba.
