Waste Management for a cleaner Blantyre
Curb New Waste Menace – Diapers
Used baby diapers disposal has emerged as a serious problem in most urban communities in Malawi. Even the City Fathers are yet to come up with a tangible solution. Kameza 1 and 2 communities located on Blantyre City Entry and Exit Point are not exceptional. In the last couple of months, the community has grappled with this as used baby diapers were thrown carelessly in the absence of guiding disposal guidelines and dogs helped to make matters worse. This was a serious health risk. Through a project Tilitonse Foundation is funding and working with NICE Trust, for this community, this is a thing of the past as the community members with the leadership of Group Village Headman Kameza 1, developed bylaws on managing the disposal of diapers.
“Initially the fine was K15000 if diapers were disposed carelessly but later the community agreed to raise the fine from K15,000 to K50,000. Just recently one woman who had just moved to this community was fined K50,000, but after negotiating she paid a K30,000. Our community is now clean and it is our vision that by the end of the year 2020, we would want this practice to stop completely.” said GVH Kameza 1 at a Citizen Forum Meeting Organised by NICE Trust.
While Kameza 1 and 2 may have found a solution, a lot other urban areas are grappling with the problem. Until such a time when City and Town Councils take this as a serious waste management ticking bomb that requires urgent policy response both on paper and in practice, millions of urbanites’ health remains on a high risk.
