Unsafe injections can result in the transmission of blood-borne pathogens from patient-to-patient, patient-to-health worker and, more rarely, health worker-to-patient. The community at large is also at risk when injection equipment is used and then not safely disposed of. In many instances, used equipment is reused, sold or recycled because of its commercial value.
 

Challenge
Unsafe injection practices and improper disposal of contaminated needles and syringes result in increased rates of infectious disease, especially among children and health workers. Recent studies have found that more than 50% of all injections given in developing countries are done using syringes and needles that have not been sterilized. Unsafe injection practices in the less-developed countries account for an estimated US $535 million a year in health care costs and 1.3 million deaths a year. Increased use of disposable auto-disable (AD) syringes, suggested by the WHO as a tool against syringe reuse, will necessitate better, more widespread waste disposal practices.

Solution
VillageReach's distribution network assures that governments have an effective, reliable system for the timely delivery of clean, disposable AD syringes and for the transport of harmful medical waste to appropriate disposal facilities.

VillageReach is also collaborating with PATH to introduce inexpensive, portable point-of-use needle removers to facilitate the safe collection and disposal of contaminated needles. These devices provide immediate isolation of contaminated sharps, decrease the required volume of disposal boxes and/or containers, and may aid in discouraging the use of contaminated syringes. This technology could improve injection safety for large-scale immunization campaigns as well as for small outreach clinics.

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Injection Safety Facts

	A study on safety of immunization injections in 13 African countries revealed that injection equipment was being re-used without sterilization, a substantial proportion of health facilities had a shortage of injection equipment, and used syringes and needles were found both in and around the health facilities.
	A 1998 study involving 19 countries in five regions in the developing world found that in 14 countries at least 50% of injections were unsafe. Overall, unsafe injection practices were identified as the cause of at least eight million hepatitis B infections a year, two million hepatitis C infections, and 75,000 cases of HIV/AIDS, as well as cases of Ebola, Lassa fever, dengue and malaria.
	The auto-disable syringe, which is now widely available at low cost, presents the lowest risk of person-to-person transmission of blood-borne pathogens (such as Hepatitis B or HIV) because it cannot be reused. The auto-disable syringe is the equipment of choice for administering vaccines, both in routine immunization and mass campaigns.
	Each unsafe injection costs governments between three to five times the extra cost of auto-disable syringes (which guarantee a sterile injection), not to mention the toll in terms of human suffering.

Source: World Health Organization

Injection Safety Information from the World Health Organization

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