Philippines Measles Eradication Campaign

Beneficiaries of the Philippine Follow-Up Measles Elimination Campaign  (photo from the 2004 PMEC Report)

The Philippines Measles Eradication Campaign (PMEC) is one of the many projects carried out by Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia. Immunisation is vital to prevent disease and save lives.

However, large scale vaccination programs can create enormous amounts of waste. Often, waste is open burned. Sometimes, donors build cheap small scale incinerators which are used to burn syringes from the vaccination program and other medical waste after the vaccination program is over, perpetuating the problem of dioxin pollution.

In 2004, we collaborated with the Philippine Department of Health, in association with the World Health Organization, to demonstrate that viable alternatives to burning immunization waste exist. As a result, the Philippines became the first country to deal with waste from a nationwide vaccination program without resorting to incineration or open burning.

The Philippine Follow-Up Measles Elimination Campaign (PMEC) targeted an estimated 18 million children during the month of February 2004. In a little over a month, the PMEC generated an estimated 19.5 million syringes collected in 162,000 safety boxes, amounting to about 810,000 litres or 130,000 kg of sharps waste. Also produced were an additional 740,000 litres or 72,000 kg of non-hazardous waste (empty vaccine vials and ampoules, syringe wrappers, empty vitamin capsules, cotton swabs, syringe caps, and packaging).

The PMEC Report

The measles campaign presented an opportunity to demonstrate and document waste management and disposal without incineration or open burning during a mass immunization campaign. To learn more, read:

• Executive Summary of our report: Disposal of Mass Immunization Waste Without Incineration, (6pp, pdf)
• Full report: Waste Management and Disposal During the Philippine Follow-Up Measles Campaign 2004 (112pp, pdf)