Dibina Health Center, located in Yalo Woreda, has long struggled with inadequate and deteriorated sanitation infrastructure caused by years of overutilization and limited financial resources. The existing waste management facilities had become damaged and non-functional, leaving the health center unable to safely dispose of infectious medical waste generated during healthcare delivery services.
As a result, hazardous healthcare waste, including human placentas, pathological waste, wound dressings, and sharp materials, was being disposed of in unprotected open areas within the facility compound. This unsafe practice exposed patients, health workers, caregivers, and surrounding community members to serious health risks, including healthcare-associated infections and drug-resistant diseases that can lead to severe illness and death.
Recognizing the urgent need for intervention, Africa Initiative for Relief and Development (AIRD), with funding support from BHA, implemented the construction of essential sanitation infrastructure at Dibina Health Center and nearby health facilities. At Dibina Health Center specifically, AIRD constructed two handwashing facilities attached to toilets, one protected placenta pit, and one modern incinerator with an ash pit to improve the management and disposal of infectious waste.
Dibina Health Center serves more than 20,000–25,000 patients annually. The newly constructed sanitation facilities have significantly strengthened infection prevention and control measures within the health center. The modern incinerator and protected disposal systems now enable safe handling and disposal of hazardous healthcare waste, reducing environmental contamination and minimizing the risk of disease transmission among patients, health workers, and the surrounding community.
The Medical Director of Dibina Health Center expressed appreciation for the support provided:
“The construction of this modern incinerator with ash pit, waste disposal pit, and placenta pit for our health center, which serves over 20,000 patients per year, has significant benefits in protecting our patients, health workers, and the facility environment from contamination caused by infectious waste and unsafe open disposal practices. We are extremely grateful to AIRD for supporting the improvement of our healthcare waste management system.”
Through this intervention, AIRD has not only improved sanitation and waste management systems but also contributed to creating a safer and healthier healthcare environment for thousands of people accessing services at Dibina Health Center every year.
