A/HRC/18/31 (c) Access, on a voluntary basis, to vaccination against such common infectious diseases as tetanus and hepatitis; (d) The organization of training opportunities and safety workshops designed for and targeting different categories of hospital personnel (such as medical doctors, nurses, hospital cleaners and waste handlers); (e) Regular drills in emergency prevention, preparedness and response procedures. D. Funding and technical support 90. In many developing countries, the main obstacle to the safe and sound management of medical waste is the limited funding available to public health authorities. The Special Rapporteur recommends that States take all appropriate steps, to the maximum of its available resources, to allocate adequate financial resources to all public and private institutions and bodies responsible for the safe and environmentally sound management of health-care waste. These include health authorities, the national environmental protection body, managers of health-care facilities and managers of private or public waste-disposal agencies. 91. The Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize that, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, international cooperation for the realization of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights is an obligation of all States. He therefore calls on the donor community, international and regional organizations, financial institutions and the private sector to provide developing countries with technical assistance and financial support to help them achieve safe and sustainable management of medical waste. Technical assistance should include the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge, as well as state-of-the-art technologies for the safe disposal of hazardous medical waste, such as autoclaving and non-burn technologies. 92. The Special Rapporteur also encourages relevant international organizations, and in particular WHO, to continue to provide developing countries with technical assistance and support in the design and implementation of their regulatory and policy frameworks on health-care waste management. E. Health-care waste management 93. The safe and sound management of medical waste generated by health-care facilities requires the elaboration of appropriate health-care waste management plans at all relevant levels. Waste management plans should be elaborated in all health-care facilities, taking into account their size, the amount of medical waste they generate on an annual basis and their technical, financial and human resources. 94. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the following principles be taken into account while drafting and implementing such health-care waste management plans: (a) Prevention/minimization. The Special Rapporteur calls on States, healthcare facilities and the private sector to take all appropriate measures, including educational programmes and improved production processes, to ensure that the generation of hazardous medical waste is reduced to a minimum. Hospitals should, whenever feasible, replace hazardous chemicals/products (for example, mercurycontaining devices) or disposable instruments (such as scissors and kidney dishes) with alternative products or reusable products. Prescription practices should also be changed so that unnecessary injections in cases where effective oral medical is available may be avoided; 20