HECAF is now HECAF360
HECAF 360
uniquely qualified
to carry out
this assignment
By Special Request of
Ministry of Health and Population:
Airport bio-hazard clean-up
Ambulances standing by to evacuate the seriously ill passengers
ABOUT US
Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation (HECAF 360), formerly Health Care Foundation Nepal (HECAF), is a non-governmental and not-for-profit sharing organization committed to promoting a clean, green, climate smart health care system in Nepal. HECAF 360 is a pioneer in environmentally-safe health care waste management systems based on Zero Waste principles and non-burn technology.
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GUIDELINES & PRINCIPLES
ZERO RISK
Make hospitals and other health care facilities SAFE, for patients, for staff and for the communities in which the hospitals and clinics are located.
NO BURN
HECAF 360 is committed to the elimination of incineration of medical waste throughout the country.
ZERO WASTE
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is the mantra governing every implementation of a Health Care Waste Management project.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Diagnostic Assessment of health care waste in hospitals and other health care facilities are carried out to quantify the volume of waste generated and identify gaps in existing health care waste management systems at those health care facilities. The methodology of diagnostic assessment of health care waste was developed by Mahesh Nakarmi, director and health care waste management specialist of health care waste management program of HECAF. In 2007, under the guidance of Mahesh Nakarmi, the first assessment was carried out in the dialysis facilities of Kathmandu Valley as part of a student’s project during a Health Care Waste Management Course under the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Based on this assessment the methodology was modified.
Pioneered First Safe Health Care Waste Management System in Nepal
Collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO)
In 2007, HECAF’s pioneering work on safe health care waste management at National Kidney Center in Nepal has been recognized and acknowledged by the World Health Organization in 2007 and shared at international conferences on health care waste management. WHO-Nepal and HECAF have collaborated in the creation of training and awareness-raising materials about health care waste segregation and the hazards of mercury in the health care environment. WHO widely distributes a HECAF video on how to replicate the non-burn technologies deployed by HECAF at the National Kidney Center. During the first collaborative efforts, a documentary film was produced that illustrated how to implement safe health care waste management system that WHO endorsed and encouraged.
Diagnostic Assessment of health care waste in hospitals and other health care facilities are carried out to quantify the volume of waste generated and identify gaps in existing health care waste management systems at those health care facilities. The methodology of diagnostic assessment of health care waste was developed by Mahesh Nakarmi, director and health care waste management specialist of health care waste management program of HECAF. In 2007, under the guidance of Mahesh Nakarmi, the first assessment was carried out in the dialysis facilities of Kathmandu Valley as part of a student’s project during a Health Care Waste Management Course under the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Based on this assessment the methodology was modified.
Diagnostic Assessment on Health Care Waste Management
PROJECTS HECAF 360
Making Nepal's Waste Management Safer
HOSPITALS
HECAF has implemented Health Care Waste Management projects in over 25 in-patient hospitals throughout the country. These multi-bed facilities can now recycle much of the waste they generate, including pathological wastes. Each project begins with an elaborate diagnostic assessment of the kinds of wastes being generated and an evaluation of the safest and most effective methods of reusing, recycling or disposing of the waste.
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SMALL FACILITIES
Clinics and out-patient treatment centers in both urban and rural environments also generate health care waste and pose risks to patients, staff and the community at large if the waste generated is not properly treated and processed. Just as with the large multi-bed hospitals, clinics and out patient centers rely on a careful diagnostic evaluation before any project is designed and implemented.
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SPECIALTY PROJECTS
It's not just hospitals and clinics that generate health care waste. Pharmaceutical waste is also a major problem once products exceed their use-by date.Expired pharmaceuticals must be handled in a safe and responsible manner when being disposed of HECAF has devised a program that can safely recycle a great of the the waste from expired pharmaceuticals.
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MENSTRUAL WASTE
In Nepal schools are also generating potentially infectious waste because of a recent Government of Nepal policy making menstrual hygiene pads available to schoolgirls. The safe disposal of these sanitary pads is an issue that HECAF has also addressed.
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Zero Waste
Zero Waste is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages "rethinking" what waste is and "redesigning" how waste is handled so that all products are reused. The goal is for no trash to be sent to landfills, incinerators, or waterways. As much as possible HECAF deploys Zero Waste principles in its Health Care Waste Management work.
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