Waste management for better health

The Ministry of Education announced that due the increase of cholera cases, schools in Lilongwe and Blantyre will not be opened until the cholera  situation is assessed.

Additionally,  the Ministry of Health has been vaccinating people to mitigate the chronic effects of the disease. It is sad that Malawi is still having to deal with Cholera in 2023.

While this disease may have been worsened with the wet season, it is clearly a preventable disease with good public health practices in place. Good public health is key factor for a Malawi’s economic growth and development. Citizens in poor health cannot be economically and socially active.

One of the areas that can exacerbate not only cholera but other diseases is poor waste management. Poor waste management can cause malaria, diarrhoea, and many other diseases.

Malawi has long struggled with waste management in all the four major cities. It is common to see uncollected waste rotting in the public markets in urban centres. 

It is also common to see diapers being carelessly dumped in undesignated areas such as rivers and streams. Local councils should increase waste collection from residential areas by engaging private companies.

However, the efforts are not sufficient as those that are unable to pay the service fees still resort to dispose waste using unrecommended means. Waste collection is estimated at about 30 percent in the Blantyre and Lilongwe. This leaves about 70 percent uncollected waste that is mostly dumped in undesignated areas.

Cholera should be a wake-up call for Malawi to rethink its waste management practices. It is time Malawi adopted modern ways of managing waste to foster public health and exploit the economic opportunities available through proper waste management. Open dumping and unsanitary landfills ought to be phased out as these methods can be catalysts for the spread of Cholera and other diseases.

Multi stakeholder engagement is key to dealing with waste. Individuals ought to play their role in segregating and disposing waste in recommended containers,

The waste collectors also ought to ensure that waste is well segregated and disposed in right containers.

Community based organisations ( CBOs) and Non-Governmental organization( NGOs) also ought to help with awareness campaigns on waste collectors and city officials on good waste management practices. CBOs and NGOs should join hands with relevant public authorities that foster compliance to waste management practices.

The private sector has a critical role to play not only in collecting waste but also in establishing waste management plants where economic activities can be exploited.

It is the private sector that can assist with phasing out open dumpsites by establishing material recycling facilities in these areas.

It is the private sector that can establish compost making factories. It is the private sector that can establish biogas production companies through use of  wastes.  Private sector has the technologies and the finances to exploit the opportunities available in waste.

The President has once before underlined his belief in private sector inclusion to foster economic growth and development through establishment of the  Presidential Private Sector Council. The other forums already in place  are the Private Public Dialogue Forum at the Ministry of Trade, The Presidential Delivery Unit and of course the Public Private Partnership Commission.

It is imperative that policies are put in place to support private sector inclusion in efficient delivery of public assets and service. For example, a compost making company will need policies that will ensure its products have a market. It will need subsidies, tax waivers to bring in the necessary equipment, viability gap funding. Biogas production companies will need policies that will ensure an off taker is available as well tax waivers and cheap sources of capital are available.

All in all, good waste management systems are key to good public health and can assist to sustainably put an end to cholera, malaria, diarrhoea and other diseases.

Good waste management systems can also create economic and social activities that create wealth for masses. It is every Malawian’s responsibility to deal with cholera. Let’s all be part of the solution.