A Namibian news report tells that “every morning a huge cloud of black smoke soars from the chimneys of a small corrugated iron building next to the Katutura State Hospital and covers the entire health facility including its adjacent nurses’ home in a layer of toxic haze. It is a health hazard to those living in the vicinity, health personnel and patients who risk getting sicker in their hospital bed instead of better. The hospital can accommodate approximately 1,000 patients.”

The front page photo tells the tale, but it is of course the invisible pollutants that cause the greatest harm. “The smoke normally covers the upper levels of the building, from the sixth floor going up,” tells a concerned nurse. The Windhoek incinerator, in operation since 1970, is routinely used for disposal of clinical wastes despite its deficiencies.

The report highlights a long-standing deficiency in the performance of this incinerator, together with bad planning and a string of excuses that fail to properly address the issues involved.