ISLAMABAD-Ministry of Health for the first time has devised a Health Care Waste Management Action Plan with an estimated cost of Rs 1.6 billion. The action has been taken in the absence of proper hospital waste management system in majority of the hospitals countrywide due to which cases of Hepatitis B, C and HIV and AIDS are on the rise. The Ministry in collaboration with Health Services Academy, World Health Organization and other partners has finalized the HCWM Action Plan. Prior to the formulation of the NAP a comprehensive survey was conducted countrywide to gauge the actual situation. The four provinces i.e. Punjab, NWFP, Balochistan, Sindh and Azad Jammu and Kashmir area were included in the survey. One tertiary care hospital in public and private sectors, two secondary care hospitals in both public and private sectors and four first level care hospitals in both public and private sectors were selected in the survey. The survey revealed that in all the four provinces Punjab, NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir majority of the hospitals didnt have either a Health Care Waste Management Team or Infection Control Team. According to the findings of the survey, HCWM practices within the health care facilities are not according to the guidelines established hence posing great harm to the health of the workers, patients and their attendants. Under the proposed NAP it has been suggested that instead of installing separate incinerators in every hospital a new structure of Central Health Care Waste Treatment Facilities should be introduced. It cost low and it include all the required equipment within one system including Incinerator, Autoclave and Microwave that is more efficient and environmentally sound. For sound implementation of the project under the plan a monitoring system would be established with adequate control procedures at national, regional and health facility levels to ensure sustainability. As per rules set by the proposed NAP it would be must to ensure transportation of segregated waste from hospitals. All hospitals will follow Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005 and Ministry of Environments guidelines. Each hospital would collect its waste from various collection departments according to the categorization and would store them in the storage rooms in their premises. The vehicles arranged for collection of the waste will collect the wastes from the hospital and carry it to the Central Treatment Facility once in two days. Numbers of vehicles would be allotted according to the number of beds in each provincial capital. This system will act as Pilot model in the four provinces and later it would be replicated in other districts also. The plan also explains the method of Health Care Waste collection, treatment and final disposal at Central Health Care Facility. It is pertinent to mention Pakistan has laws on Health Care Waste Management in the shape of Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 in the context of Environment Protection Act of 1997 but still implementation of these rules is a major challenge in the present scenario.