By: Keith Morrison|Staff Writer
Liberia’s biggest referral hospital, the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFK) has embarked on the modernization of its waste management in Monrovia.This followed the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of an incinerator by the hospital.
An incinerator is a container-like system designed to handle and destroy a wide range of hospital wastes through high-temperature burning. Wates considered for burning by incinerator include infectious wastes, pathological, sharp and pharmaceutical wastes.
The ceremony took place Monday, March 17, 2025 at JFK in Sinkor led by the Speaker of the 55th Liberian Legislature, Richard Koon.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony, speaker Koon said the construction of the incinerator will save the Hospital from spending over $74,000 United States Dollars annually for waste management. He believes such amount could be diverted to other areas within the hospital in the future to improve the health care delivery system of the country.
“JFK is overwhelmed with a lot of activities, challenges, and I am actually overwhelmed by your workings. And that is why I decided to look at the low-hanging fruits, and this is one of the lowest I can find,” Speaker Koon said.
The value of the project is put at US$20,000 and is expected to be completed in three months.
The speaker said his action is in fulfilment of a promise he recently made during a tour of the JFK medical facilities in Monrovia. He promised to discover other areas for support adding that he will soon begin such initiative.
Remarking, JFK’s chief executive officer, Dr. Linda Birch commended the Speaker for the gesture adding, the management of waste disposal is very crucial to the prevention of the next outbreak in any health facilities. She believes everyone who believes in infection prevention and control will also prioritize waste management.
“The population relies on the way we control our waste, especially medical wastes. They are infectious to the population,” Dr. Birch stressed.
She assured the leadership and members of the House of Representatives that with the support from her bosses, improvement at the JFK is insight while thanking them for the initial steps taken so far.
Speaker Koon meanwhile renewed his willingness to help the hospital through budgetary allocation saying that his doors of assistance are opened to the facility.
Edited: Jesefu Morris Keita| Editor-In-Chief
