KARONGI – Environmental Health students at Kigali Health Institute (KHI), yesterday, conducted a field study to assess the impact of poor waste management in public institutions.

The students, led by their tutors, inspected various public places, including Kibuye hospital, the modern market in Karongi town and local hotels and restaurants.

"The field tour is aimed at enabling students get firsthand experience of the challenges they should expect to encounter as future environmental health officers,” Canisius Gasana, the lecturer who led the exercise said.

Most students who spoke to The New Times said they discovered that the methods of waste management were not up to standard.

"There is a major problem in the way hazardous waste is disposed of, especially at the hospital and the market,” Jonathan Kwizera, one of the students observed.

Leandre Ntigurirwa, the Environmental Health Officer at the hospital, said that liquid waste management is still a major challenge which requires extra funding to address.

"We drew up a management plan and now we are waiting for local authorities to provide the funds,” he said.

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