UoH Joins Global Study on Single-Use Plastics in Healthcare

Rapid Summary

• The University of Hyderabad’s Department of Anthropology is part of the international “After the Single Use” project addressing environmental and health issues linked to single-use plastics in healthcare.
• The project is funded by the Wellcome Trust wiht a £5.9 million Revelation Award, involving researchers from eight countries to explore social, cultural, and environmental aspects of medical plastics and work towards circular healthcare economies.
• Associate Professor Nanda Kishore Kannuri has been granted £422,608 (approximately ₹5 crore) over five years as part of this initiative.
• The research will analyse factors driving healthcare waste crises, study disposable medical technologies’ life cycles, and develop lasting solutions through collaborations with stakeholders.
• Global interconnections in healthcare waste-such as syringes manufactured in India used in Senegal-and local innovative solutions across diverse healthcare contexts (Papua New Guinea aid posts to hospitals in India) will be investigated.
• Key collaborators include universities from the UK,Australia,Switzerland,Norway,USA; institutions from Tanzania and Papua New Guinea; NGOs like Health Care Without Harm; and other partners.

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Indian Opinion Analysis

the University of hyderabad’s involvement highlights India’s expanding role in global sustainability initiatives. By tackling single-use plastics through interdisciplinary collaboration spanning eight countries-including India-this project opens pathways for creating environmentally conscious practices within healthcare systems worldwide. with Indian-produced syringes serving global markets such as Senegal’s hospitals showcased within the study scope, it underscores India’s pivotal contribution while hinting at shared challenges surrounding waste management.

The grant not only supports cutting-edge research but brings attention to how circular economies can transform both health outcomes and ecological footprints globally. For policymakers and industries engaged with medical technologies domestically or internationally-from production plants to urban hospitals-it exemplifies a key possibility for adopting sustainable innovation models rooted at an international scale.