Supporting Kosovo Health Authorities Towards Better Management of Healthcare Waste

On 26th of October 2022, a workshop was organized by WHO Pristina to facilitate the work on the draft standard operating procedures (SOP) related to the management of infectious healthcare waste. The working group (WG) assigned by Ministry of Health (MoH) has nearly finalized the SOP, and the aim of this workshop was to support the WG to put the final touches to it in accordance with WHO guidelines and with the direct support of international and local WHO consultants.

This workshop is only the first step in the WHO’s plan to support the improvement of healthcare waste management in Kosovo. Besides the support to finalize this SOP, the plan is to also continue supporting stakeholders to develop SOPs for all types of waste generated by healthcare facilities. In the end, the plan is to have a complete package of SOPs that can serve as a reference point for healthcare workers and all other parties of interest. Besides SOPs, WHO is also designing a training package aimed at healthcare workers and sanitary workers to increase their knowledge on managing waste within healthcare facilities. Training of Trainers and other routes will be pursued to make these trainings mandatory and integrated into existing structures to ensure sustainability. Lastly, once SOPs and trainings are finalized, WHO will prepare awareness raising materials (leaflets, posters) to be distributed in healthcare facilities so that healthcare workers & patients will be reminded on how to handle medical waste when they come in contact with it.