VietNamNet Bridge – The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Dong Thap has received US$2.1 million in aid for a local hospital waste treatment project.

The money will be used to improve the management of waste in four hospitals, namely Dong Thap General Hospital, Sa Dec General Hospital, Hong Ngu Regional General Hospital and Thap Muoi Regional General Hospital.

The aid is part of the $155 million hospital waste treatment project, launched by the Ministry of Health last December, with financial support from the World Bank (WB).

The six-year project aims to minimise environmental pollution due to medical waste from hospitals in order to improve people's health. It will help strengthen policies relating to medical waste management and establish solid and water waste treatment systems for at least 150 hospitals.

Dong Thap is among the five Mekong Delta provinces selected to initially be provided with medical waste treatment systems.

Recent statistics from the Ministry of Health show that more than 1,260 hospitals and over 1,000 medical clinics nationwide discharge around 350 tonnes of solid waste and 150,000 cubic metres of liquid waste per day. However, 56 per cent of hospitals nationwide have no waste water treatment system.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News