Control of pollution from antibiotic manufacturing as well as unused pharmaceuticals is a key part of safeguarding the longevity of antibiotics for all. Pollution contributes to antibiotic resistance and potentially undermines the effectiveness of medicines. Antibiotic pollution from manufacturing is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In health care facilities, there is often little consideration for how to safely and sustainably manage pharmaceutical waste. In order to address these gaps, WHO has recently published two new global guidance documents; on waste management for pharmaceutical manufacturing and on pharmaceutical waste in health care facilities.
This webinar, part of the global webinar series supporting national action plans on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), gave the highlights of these documents, and presented country and partner examples on how they were implementing the new recommendations.
Agenda:
- Opening remarks
- Strengthening waste management within NAPs on AMR – Anand Balachandran (AMR National Action Plans Implementation and Monitoring Unit Head, WHO)
- Guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for manufacturing of antibiotics – Kate Medlicott (Sanitation and Waste Team Lead, WHO)
- Safe management of pharmaceutical waste from health care facilities: global best practices – Maggie Montgomery (WASH Settings Team Lead, WHO)
- Panel discussion: Application of the new guidance by countries and partners:
- Rajeshwari Sinha, Centre for Science and Environment, India
- Waltaji Kutane Terfa, WHO Country Office, Ethiopia
- Min Yang, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Stefan Berggren, Swedish Medical Product Agency, Regulatory agencies network against AMR
- Joos Van Den Noortgate, Médecins Sans Frontières
The webinar was moderated by Nienke Bruinsma (Senior Technical Officer at the AMR National Action Plans Implementation and Monitoring Unit, WHO).
French and Spanish interpretation was available.