Abstract
The efficient and sanitary management of infectious waste is an essential part of the humanitarian response to any disaster, including the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, in many contexts within the Global South, waste management systems are poorly equipped to handle these waste streams during periods of normalcy, let alone during times of crisis. The purpose of this article is draw attention to a number of existing inequalities that define infectious waste management practices globally, with a critical eye to how they constrain poorer nations’ ability to respond and manage their own Covid-19 outbreaks. In particular, the work draws on the authors’ extensive research, experience, and activism at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, to understand how waste management practices will inform and react to mitigation efforts and to propose a number of practical steps that can be achieved in the short-term, as well as towards long-term structural transformation. Ultimately, this conversation is meant to contribute to a more inclusive and critical waste management studies discourse.
Highlights
In addition to its human impacts, the Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic will lead to the creation of a vast amount of solid waste that will require sanitary and sustainable management
How should waste management systems react within a pandemic, when the waste itself is a possible source of infection? what are the potential implications for poor nations within the Global South, where waste management systems, including for infectious waste, may be incomplete or non-existent? The quote in the title of this article was spoken by a caregiver at a public hospital in Malawi, who was voicing their apprehension over
The purpose of this article is to highlight the absolutely essential role that the management of infectious waste must play in a humanitarian response, towards Covid-19 and to other future disasters, as well as to shine a light on the inequalities that characterise these practices within the Global South
Summary
In addition to its human impacts, the Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic will lead to the creation of a vast amount of solid waste that will require sanitary and sustainable management. What are the potential implications for poor nations within the Global South, where waste management systems, including for infectious waste, may be incomplete or non-existent?
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