Reuse of medical Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE) : Experience of Humatem NGO, France

Life Med project - LIFE13 ENV/IT/000620 Life Med International Workshop 25/26/27 January 2017

Cathy Blanc-Gonnet, Director

HUMATEM

18 years of experience

Settled up in the Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley

Team : 20 board members, 2 permanent staff 6 volunteers, students

Major public funding partners

Admitted to Official relations with WHO since 2015

5 main activities:

• Improving access to and use of medical technologies in LMICs :

> Strengthening of health infrastructures and their management capacities in health technologies

> Dissemination of good practice to improve the effectiveness of medical equipment projects conducted by development aid organisations.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

BANK OF MEDICAL DEVICES

BIOMEDON, COLLABORATIVE

BIOMEDICAL NETWORK

SPECIALIZED RESOURCE

CENTER

EXPERTISE & COLLABORATIONS

NETWORKS & SPACES FOR EXCHANGES

• Matching supply and demand by linking donation offers of healthcare stakeholders and needs expressed by development aid organisations.

> Assess relevance and quality of medical device proposals > Validate pertinence and consistency of projects submitted by

projects holders – Provide advice > International transport costs and

organization are the responsibility of the project holders

• Some annual figures

> 170 donors of medical devices > 40 project holders supported, working in some 20 LMICs > 1 000 donated medical devices > Wide range of medical specialties > Majority of second-hand devices

> Facilitating and supervising medical device donations

THE BANK OF MEDICAL DEVICES

BIOMÉDON, COLLABORATIVE BIOMEDICAL NETWORK

> Dismantling and removal of medical equipment > Quality control before transfer > Minor repairs

> Ordering accessories and spare parts

> Packaging

... to meet the requirements of European Directive 2012/19/UE to prevent WEEE transfers to LMICs

> Offering biomedical and logistical services to NGOs

Results of the performance tests carried out in 2015 on medical equipment

Operational

and of

immediate use

55%

Defective and

given for re-

cycling or kept

for spare parts

32%

Operational

but require

minor repair

10%

Operational

but require

recalibration

3%

• 150 services per year offered at low prices

• Carried out internally by biomedical professionals or externally by associated partners throughout France

• Required appropriate tools, test and measuring devices, procedures.

• Collaboration with Récylum (eco-organism) for recycling non-compliant equipment

BIOMÉDON, COLLABORATIVE BIOMEDICAL NETWORK

THE SPECIALIZED RESOURCE CENTER

• A documentary film

• Series of practical and methodological guides

• Charter for medical equipment support project holders

• Nine-panel display for exhibition

• Document aimed at promoting biomedical professions in African French-speaking countries

• A series of 81 information factsheets on medical technologies

• A database of 1300 user and maintenance manuals

• List of 660 biomedical contacts in LMIC

• Library of 350 reference works and papers

• Coming soon : information document on the European Directive on WEEE and its impact on medical device donations

To be downloaded online and used for training or screening-debate sessions… (www.humatem.org/Centre de ressources >> French and English versions)

> Make available awareness raising tools to disseminate good practice

NETWORKS AND SPACES FOR EXCHANGE

• Lead and enlarge exchanges at national and European level :

> Working group « Le matériel médical dans les actions de solidarité internationale »

> European network « Medical equipment in low-income countries »

• Organize the Equip’aid international conference

• Manage the InfoMatmed discussion forum

> To promote dialogue, sharing of experience and joint publications

EXPERTISE & COLLABORATIONS

• Training modules on HTM and maintenance to 20 hospital technicians in DRC (in collaboration with MSV Belgium)

• Contributions, revision, translation and dissemination of documents and surveys for WHO, FHF, DHT Lab (Duke University, USA)…

• Surveys and studies related to our field of activity

ON-GOING PROJECTS AND CHALLENGES…

• Work closer with Récylum to increase sourcing of donations

• Organize the 2nd edition of Equip’aid in Chamonix

• Draw up and implement a France-Switzerland cross-border cooperation program (2018-2020) to expand our activities

• Continue to foster development of biomedical profession and HTM in French-speaking African countries

• Promote the development of innovative « appropriate » technologies as an alternative to second-hand medical equipment donations

Thank you for your attention.

cathy.blanc-gonnet@humatem.org www.humatem.org