Due to the infectious nature of some clinical waste, poor
disposal practices have sparked concern regarding the
impact on public health and the environment. Lack of
sufficient knowledge of the associated risks may be a
strong factor contributing to inadequate disposal practices.
We conducted a survey to evaluate hospital workers’
awareness of health and environmental impacts of
poor clinical waste disposal in Cameroon. We randomly
distributed 500 questionnaires to hospital workers in
three hospitals in the Northwest Region of Cameroon
in April 2008. In addition, we observed collection, segregation,
transportation, and disposal of clinical waste
at the three hospitals. Of 475 total respondents, most
lacked sufficient awareness of any environmental or
public health impacts of poor clinical waste disposal and
had never heard of any policy—national or international—
on safe clinical waste management. Methods of
collecting, segregating, transporting and disposing clinical
waste at the three hospitals was poor. The development
of a comprehensive policy on efficient clinical
waste management in Cameroon is imperative.