All public health facilities, including hospitals, experience challenges with human and financial resources due to budget cuts and staffing positions left unfilled. This has led to a decrease in the number of Support Staff (General Assistants) being employed as well as a decrease in cleaning equipment and cleaning materials being procured. 

Sebokeng Hospital’s Environmental Health Department conducts environmental health inspections every month as part of its duties and has identified several challenges affecting the cleanliness of the facilities. 

To address then, the hospital implemented a series of actions, such as implementing a monitoring tool, the Environmental Hygiene Checklist, to assess the condition of cleaning equipment. Hospital staff received personal protective equipment to prevent exposure to hazardous chemicals, new mops were procured, and training was provided to staff to raise awareness on the hazards of chemicals, the need for dilution, and the safe decanting and labeling of products so that no unsafe mixing can occur 

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About SHiPP

The Sustainable Health in Procurement Project (SHiPP) was a four-year program developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm and funded by the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA), that aimed to reduce the harm to people and the environment caused by the manufacture, use, and disposal of medical products and by the implementation of health programs.

With an expansive and diverse network of over 1,700 members in more than 80 countries, GGHH was a key vehicle to engage the health sector around the globe on sustainable procurement through the Sustainable Health in Procurement Project (SHiPP). 

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