As health care becomes more progressive in today’s society, the knowledge and skills of health-care workers, professionals, technical partners, and policymakers should keep pace. This is what the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to contribute with its new online course on health-care waste management.
Announced on August 20, 2026, WHO, alongside UNICEF, launched a new free online course, ‘Advanced Health Care Waste Management, Including Considerations for Treatment, Mercury and Pharmaceutical Waste.’ The course tackles the safer and more sustainable management of waste throughout its full cycle.
WHO launched the online course in response to its findings that, in 2025, 21 percent of health-care facilities had limited basic waste management services, while 7 percent had none at all. The latter figure translates to an estimated 571 million people globally being served by health-care facilities without a basic waste-management system in place.
While far from perfect, the Philippines scored relatively well in the study, particularly in the coverage of water and sanitation services and environmental cleaning. Its gaps were seen mainly in hygiene services and waste-management services.
Lesson coverage
The lessons in the new course cover the following topics: Why health-care waste management matters; Understanding the health-care waste system; Treatment technologies and planning; Sizing systems and building capacity; and Managing mercury and pharmaceutical waste.
After completing the course, students are expected to understand the different types of health-care waste, assess associated hazards and risks, implement appropriate management practices for mercury and pharmaceutical waste, and develop approaches to waste minimization.
‘Safe healthcare waste management is fundamental to quality care, infection prevention and control, and the protection of health workers, communities and the environment,’ said Bruce Gordon, WHO Director a.i., Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration.
The course does not require prior knowledge of health-care waste management, although such knowledge could be an advantage.
The fully online course is self-paced and consists of six modules, plus an introduction and overview, followed by a course assessment and conclusion, for a total of nine modules.
Learn more about the course through the WHO Academy course page.