According to Kaukab Iqbal, every public and private hospital must dispose of hazardous medical waste under national laws and international standards. Hospitals also have a legal and moral duty to manage infectious waste safely.

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The CAP chairman urged the Federal Ministry of National Health Services and provincial health departments to issue immediate directives. Every hospital, laboratory and diagnostic centre should introduce an effective waste management system.

Medical facilities should also maintain complete records of waste generation, collection, transportation and disposal. Regular inspections and audits would help regulators ensure full compliance with the law.

CAP Calls for Strict Enforcement

Strong legislation alone cannot solve the problem, Kaukab Iqbal said. Effective enforcement remains essential to improve compliance.

Authorities should impose heavy fines, suspend operating licences and initiate criminal proceedings when negligence puts lives at risk.

CAP also proposed creating Hospital Waste Management Monitoring Task Forces in every province. These task forces should include health officials, environmental agencies, local government representatives, waste management experts and CAP members to improve transparency and accountability.

Public Awareness Remains Essential

Modern waste treatment facilities should become available in every hospital, the association said. Approved incinerators and environmentally safe disposal systems would strengthen medical waste management.

Training programmes should become mandatory for doctors, nurses, laboratory staff and sanitation workers. Public awareness campaigns should also remind people that hazardous hospital waste must never mix with municipal garbage.

Illegal recycling of used syringes and contaminated medical equipment also requires urgent action because it poses a serious public health risk.

“The protection of human life must remain the government’s highest priority. Hospitals must ensure their waste does not become a source of deadly diseases in our communities,” Kaukab Iqbal said.

In his concluding remarks, he urged the federal and provincial governments to strengthen regulatory oversight. Immediate enforcement of waste disposal laws, he said, would help protect Pakistan from preventable infectious diseases.