Initial Situation
Most infectious hospital waste in Senegal is incinerated openly. These open fires are harmful to people and nature because toxic residues are released into the groundwater. In addition, open combustion does not reach sufficiently high temperatures so that the combustion does not have a disinfecting effect and pathogens can spread further.
The charitable association Hilfe für Senegal e.V., which has set up two health stations in the Thiès area, is aware of this problem and asked us from Technology without Borders for professional and technical support.

Project Content
The aim of the project is to enable the safe disposal of infectious hospital waste. An incinerator will be built near the regional hospital in Khombole. The waste from the hospital and the nearby health stations can be burned there in a controlled manner.
The incinerator is a double-walled brick incinerator with two combustion chambers. In the second chamber, the gases are post-combusted, enabling low-fume combustion. A lockable storage facility for the infectious waste is built next to the incinerator, a roof is built to protect it from rain and sunlight, and a disposal site for the ash left behind is constructed. The overall system is based on the low-budget principle: simple but solid and repair-insusceptible technology with the lowest possible operating costs.
In order to be able to use the incinerator safely in the long term, training courses are planned for the operation and maintenance of the incinerator.
In addition, waste separation systems will be introduced in the hospital wards. To ensure that these are properly integrated into the day-to-day work of hospital staff, employees are trained in the proper handling of waste. In a further step, a general understanding of the conscious handling of waste is conveyed.

Project Implementation
Due to the good cooperation with a local technician in Senegal, who has been trained by a TeoG team in the construction, operation and maintenance of incinerators, we are able to carry out the project as a remote project. It is therefore possible for us to coordinate the project from Germany. Together with the hospital in Khombole and the organisation Hilfe für Senegal e.V. we select a suitable location for the incinerator and those responsible for the operation and maintenance of the incinerator. The local technician has agreed to take over the construction of the furnace and to give training in operation and maintenance. In spring 2020, a team from Organisation Hilfe für Senegal e.V. will also support the local technician in training on site. For this purpose we will prepare our technical knowledge and provide all necessary materials.
 
Thank you very much for your interest! 
If you have any questions or suggestions, please send them to lara.hachmann@teog.de