Kampala. Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MOH), in collaboration with Ministry of Water and Environment (MoWE), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) organized a stakeholders’ inception meeting in Kampala for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project on phasing out mercury-containing devices in Uganda’s healthcare settings. 

Uganda is one of the five countries implementing the five-year GEF project aimed at supporting national health system-wide strategies for phasing out importation and use of mercury containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers (blood-pressure measurement devices) in health facilities. The project intends to phase out mercury-added medical measuring devices at a rate of 20 % per year.

Mercury is highly toxic to humans and ecosystems and is considered by WHO, as one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern. Exposure to mercury can lead to severe health issues, including neurological and developmental damage, particularly in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children. Research suggests that every person in the world has been exposed to some level of mercury through inhalation of elemental mercury vapors. 

WHO is the executing agency for the GEF project, with targeted technical inputs from UNEP global mercury partnership. Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Water and Environment shall lead the project coordination and management. 

“WHO is committed to raising awareness and understanding of the dangers of mercury exposure to vulnerable populations and advocate for a phase-out of mercury-containing measuring devices from healthcare. This will reduce the potential for mercury exposure and improve healthcare waste management,” said Dr. Suraj Man Shrestha, on behalf of the WHO Representative to Uganda. 

In healthcare settings, mercury-containing devices that are widely used to diagnose illness and monitor treatment, pose a threat in the event of breakage as mercury can escape into the environment where it vaporizes, exposing healthcare workers, patients, and their caregivers to harmful fumes. The waste generated could contaminate the area of the spill, as well as a facility’s wastewater. In addition, the waste poses a threat when long-term safe disposal is not considered. A survey conducted by NEMA in October 2021 in 38 facilities across Uganda suggested that only 25.7% of these facilities discarded mercury containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers to authorized waste management operators for disposal.

 “The promotion for use of safe, mercury-free alternatives, coupled with appropriate disposal of mercury containing devices offers a sustainable solution to this public health threat,” said Dr. Herbert Nabaasa, the commissioner Department of Environmental Health, Ministry of Health Uganda 

Mercury exposure is entirely preventable with safe and effective mercury-free alternatives like switching to non-mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers in healthcare as adopted during the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013. The convention advised member states to also implement safe handling, use, and disposal of mercury-containing products and waste in alignment to WHO recommendations. Studies have shown that certain digital thermometers can be up to one-third cheaper than their mercury equivalents when considering the entire lifecycle of both instruments, all while maintaining the same level of clinical accuracy.