English Abstract
Abstract: As a global concern, medical waste (MW) links public health, environmental pollution, and
resource sustainability. This study aims to assess the two issues related to medical waste in Bahrain:
the increasing generation rate of MW and its management. The integrated Environmental Assessment
(IEA) methodology was adopted, including the DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact, Responses)
framework, analysis of existing policies, and the outlook. Consequently, data were collected from
official health statistics in Bahrain, and related policies for the last two decades (2001 to 2021) were
also collected, in addition to interviews with Bahrain medical waste (BMW) treatment company. The
results show a vast increase in medical waste during COVID-19. Moreover, most of the existing
policies address the impact of the BMW issues, but the policies are lacking in tackling the drivers
and pressures; there is also a policy gap related to the generation rate. Accordingly, a set of policies
was proposed to overcome the two medical waste issues. Moreover, to overcome issues associated
with MW, the study recommended reforming regulations aiming to reduce and manage medical
waste efficiently in order to focus more on drivers and pressure causing an elevation in MW issues
in Bahrain.
