Reduction of unintentionally-produced persistent organic pollutants and mercury through an environmentally-sound approach on health care wastes management in the Philippines  with a special focus on the pandemic Protection of human health and the environment through the reduction of unintentionally-produced POPs and mercury in the healthcare waste sector promoting environmentally-sound approaches Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency. 215. The project envisages several areas which will bring socio-economic benefit along with the global environmental benefit pursued by the project:Environmentally sound waste management of Health Care and Covid-19 related waste.The development and consolidation of technologies and procedures for the environmentally sound management of waste can bring a number of social and economic benefit associated with 1) the minimization of environmental and health risk associated to the improper management of infectious and hazardous waste which eventually represent a cost for the society; 2) the minimization of the management cost of hazardous and infectious waste, due to a better segregation, the use of more efficient pre-treatment technologies, the enhancement of recycling and reuse whenever technically and legally acceptable, etc; 3) the increase of the capacity of environmentally sound disposal of hazardous and infectious waste, resulting in the increase of job opportunities. The achievable GEB (reduction of U-POPs and mercury release in the environment) is directly related to the social and economic benefit which can be achieved, and in this sense may be considered as a win-win mechanism.Support to enterprises to access environmental funds and to improve the circularity of their processes.Under Output 1.1.5, the project will provide Support to small manufacturers and women enterprises to increase the production of fabric reusable PPEs. This is a key output of the project which benefits could extend well beyond the pandemic emergency, due to the fact that PPEs market will likely remain very promising even after the This activity aims at providing support to small manufacturers on the production of non-medical face masks which may be effective, suitable, made of material which are durable and can stay in contact with the skin, effectively reusable for a number of times, improving therefore the circularity of such products.Similarly, under output 1.1.6, the project intends to provide technical assistance to MSMEs in the healthcare sector, including TSDs and manufacturers of PPEs and other non-mercury-containing medical devices, to access existing green financing schemes. This will ensure that the use of existing financial resources is optimized and that the rate of applications to existing green fund increases, through improving communication and awareness raising about green financing opportunities and providing technical assistance in the application process.Initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and reducing gender gaps. The project activities have been designed to ensure the key involvement of women as project leaders and as beneficiaries. In the course of the project design, a detailed gender analysis and a specific gender mainstreaming work plan, with gender-sensitive targets and indicators, has been developed and integrated in the project results framework.