KATMANDU, Aug.6 (Xinhua) – The Chinese government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) jointly launched a new initiative in Nepal to help seven hospitals in the South Asian country improve their management system medical waste, in order to better manage the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations agency announced on Friday.
According to a UNDP statement, these efforts will be devoted to modernizing the waste management system by providing support in the form of autoclaves to the seven hospitals in Nepal that treat patients with COVID-19, by setting up zones treatment of waste and training healthcare workers in its use and the appropriate means to manage medical waste.
The program, launched under the China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF), will allow the UN agency to work with the Department of Health Services of the Nepalese Ministry of Health and population.
“It is expected that 350 healthcare professionals will acquire the technical skills required for proper management of healthcare waste,” the press release noted. “At the same time, 100 local government officials will also be trained in better management of health emergencies.”
For her part, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi said she hoped that Nepal would benefit from the project and that “the clouds of the COVID-19 pandemic will disperse as soon as possible thanks to the joint efforts of all the countries of the world”.
According to the UNDP, the initiative is part of the SSCAF COVID-19 regional project in Asia and the Pacific and will benefit more than one million people. End
–
