The Embassy of Japan in Nigeria has taken a step forward in its efforts to support healthcare infrastructure in Enugu by inspecting a proposed site for a modern medical incinerator facility.
On Wednesday, officials from the embassy visited the Abakpa Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Enugu East Local Government Area, where the incinerator is to be built.
Speaking during the inspection, Ms. Wakana Deguchi, Coordinator of the Grassroots Human Security Project (GGP), expressed satisfaction with the selected location.
Deguchi emphasized the importance of proper waste management for the success of the project.
“For proper functioning of the medical incinerator, there should be a clear cut separation of medical waste from household waste,” she stated.
As part of the visit, Deguchi also assessed the embassy-funded 56KVA solar power installation at Poly General Hospital, Asata, Enugu, which has been in operation for over four years.
She commended the facility’s continuous and effective performance since it began running in January 2021.
Mr. Udochukwu Egwim, Head of Programmes at the South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO), which is implementing the incinerator project under Japan’s Grassroots Grant Project (GGP), shared insights into the initiative.
“In 2020 the organisation wrote to the embassy for a grant for 56KVA solar installation in Poly General Hospital,” Egwim said.
He highlighted the critical role the solar power system has played in the hospital’s operations.
“For the past four years since January 2021 the solar power facility is the major power supply source to the hospital serving over 500,000 inhabitants of the Asata area of Enugu metropolis,” he explained.
Before seeking funding for the incinerator, SSDO conducted a needs assessment and engaged key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health and the PHC agency.
Egwim noted: “SSDO observed that the state needed an incinerator to ensure proper disposal of medical waste, which is hazardous to humans and the environment. We applied for the grant and the embassy approved.”
Earlier in the day, during a courtesy call, the Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ikechukwu Obi, expressed gratitude to the Japanese Embassy for its continued support in improving healthcare facilities across the state.
“It will save government health facilities and other health facilities the periodic cost of transporting medical waste to be disposed at the only existing state-owned incinerator in Parklane,” Prof. Obi said, expressing confidence in the project’s potential to ease pressure on the state’s current waste disposal system.
The upcoming facility is expected to benefit 26 PHC centres in Enugu East LGA and extend its services to nearby local governments, private medical institutions, and both federal and state agencies dealing with medical waste.
