Urban Abha needs a plan to raise awareness of the dangers of medical garbage.
A new study by the Vice President of King Khalid University, Prof. Dr. Marei Bin Hussein Al-Qahtani - was presented during his participation in the First Saudi Conference for Environment activities, which held its activities these days in King Khalid University. The study is about "The Evaluation of the Medical Domestic Waste in Urban Abha," - in Asir Region, in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. The study includes the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushayt and Ahd Rafidah, in addition to 341 villagers covering an area of 1825 km 2, in which more than 800 thousand people live.
The study showed that despite the importance of this area to tourism, and from trade and service point of view, it still suffers from the problem of growing waste of medical sources, and in particular, the domestic medical waste, because they represent a serious threat to human health and to the environment. The management process, and the elimination of the domestic medical waste, should be done properly to protect the environment and those living within it.
The Researcher noted in the study the low environmental culture among the urban community in Abha. The study recommends the adoption of an urgent plan to educate members of the community and to remind them of the moral and social duties towards the environment in general, and the domestic medical waste in particular.
The exploratory survey results of houses confirmed the availability of 137 kinds of medicine - needles, swabs, and various pharmaceutical and nursing - at a rate of 4.5 type / house, and the rate of preparation of cough and cold diseases is 13.9%. The form of analysis relations (DPSEEA) clarified that forces and motives are represented in increasing the rate of population growth and socio-economic changes, and the free medicines and medical supplies lead to an increase in the amount and type of domestic medical waste.
The study also highlighted that domestic medical waste in civilized city of Abha, is the most dangerous, according to the use by the doctor or by the patient which accounts for 22%.