After the Single Use at MedExpo Africa: Driving Dialogue on Sustainable Medical Plastics in Tanzania
Researchers from the After the Single Use project recently convened in Tanzania for a series of engagements centred around MedExpo Africa. These activities highlighted the strong, ongoing partnership between the project's established Tanzania-based unit—including researchers at the Amani Medical Research Centre, NIMR-Tanzania, and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS)—and colleagues from the U.K. and Norway.
A Joint Presence at MedExpo Africa
For After the Single Use, exhibiting at MedExpo Africa was an opportunity to bring our international research into direct conversation with people working across the healthcare and medical technology sectors in Tanzania.
The project stall was staffed by a collaborative team featuring Tanzania Country Lead Dr. Peter Mangesho, alongside Global Principal Investigator Prof. Alice Street, Norway Country Lead Prof.Anne Kveim Lie, and researchers Millie Marriott Webb, Naomi Kaaya, Dr Andrea Azizi Kifyasi, and Dr. Amani Anaeli. Together, they engaged visitors with Deconstructing Devices - a hands-on exploration of the materials, plastics, and components hidden inside everyday medical technologies.
This joint presence allowed for rich dialogue between local healthcare providers, distributors, government institutions, manufacturers, and the international research team, focusing on how to understand the challenges of single-use plastic in healthcare while maintaining safety and quality of care.
Rethinking Plastics with Local and Global Experts
Complementing the expo, the team participated in a public lecture on 01 September 2026, hosted by the Department of Behavioural Sciences in the School of Public Health and Social Sciences at MUHAS. Organized in collaboration with the NIMR Amani Medical Research Centre, the event brought together researchers, healthcare professionals, academics, and students.
Discussions explored how healthcare systems might reduce unnecessary plastic waste through stronger collaboration between healthcare providers, manufacturers, and policymakers. The session emphasized the value of combining global research insights with local expertise to develop context-specific solutions.
Contributing to the lecture were Prof. Alice Street, Prof. Anne Kveim Lie, and Dr. Peter Mangesho, alongside MUHAS hosts Prof. Emmy Metta, Prof. Deodatus Kakoko and Dr. Amani Anaeli. The event provided a vital opportunity to deepen the project's work with Tanzanian partners and consider how a better understanding of medical materials can contribute to more sustainable and resilient healthcare systems.
National Media Coverage
The impact of this collaborative work was highlighted by ITV News Tanzania, which covered the team's exhibit and the broader discussions on medical waste. The coverage brought the project's findings to a national audience, underscoring the importance of international cooperation in addressing plastic pollution within the healthcare sector.
