South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund provides USD 930,234 for medical waste management project in Cambodia

Through the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF), China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) pledged USD 5 million for the "Learning from China's Experience to Improve the Ability of Response to COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific Region" initiative.

The goal of the project was to strengthen the preparedness and response capacity of the Philippines (Record ID# 96431), Myanmar (Record ID#96973), Cambodia (Record ID#96974), Nepal (Record ID#96975), and Laos (Record ID#96976) and share China’s successful COVID-19 strategies to promote sustainable cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region on COVID-19 response.

The total estimated cost of this initiative is USD 11.42 million with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) providing the remaining USD 6.42 million in parallel funding.

Cambodia received USD 930,234 under this initiative to achieve the following deliverables: - procure appropriate equipment for on-site treatment of solid waste and wastewater using nonincineration and non-chemical technologies (e.g. microwaves, washing machines, sterilizer and shredder (e.g. sterilwave (440)), wastewater treatment equipment) in accordance with WHO standards; - procure equipment for the collection and segregation of waste and storage facilities (e.g. trolleys, color-coded plastic bags/disposal bins); - procure of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPEs) to ensure safe waste handling; - Develop guidelines and communication materials for health care facilities, service providers about the collection, storage, treatment, and disposal of waste; - Provide training for health facility workers based on the WHO guidelines; - Develop guidelines and training materials for proper management of equipment to treat infectious solid waste and wastewater ((e.g. microwaves, washing machines, sterilizer and shredder (e.g. sterilwave (440)), wastewater treatment equipment, PPEs in accordance) and proper operation of existing incinerators to minimize environmental hazards; - Provide technical training materials and courses for health care professionals about the abovementioned types of technology and equipment; - Provide PPEs to sanitation and waste collection workers to protect against the risk of infection to ensure safe waste handling, disposal, transport and off-site incineration; - Provide technical training materials and courses on health precautionary measures to waste collection workers and other exposed populations.

On June 7, 2021, the Cambodian portion of the initiative was launched.

The project contributed to proper management of the increasing volume of medical waste and wastewater in hospitals working with COVID-19 patients, as well as in the city’s communities. This initiative used 73.6% of the total funds allocated to Cambodia.

It also worked to develop and strengthen the technical capacities of health care workers and service providers to treat solid waste, which cost 24% of the Cambodian donation.

Finally, 2.39% of the total donation was used to advocate communication and visibility of the project at local level. 78.01% of the Cambodian donation was used for equipment procurement, while 19.60% of the budget was spent on technical support and training constitute. A closure and handover ceremony was held on March 30, 2023.