Hundreds of different active pharmaceutical compounds are being discovered in waterways all over the world. Concern is increasing about the harm these might be doing to human health and the environment. Pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary use are entering the environment during their production, consumption and disposal.
The active ingredients of pharmaceuticals are designed to stimulate a response in humans and animals at low concentrations. Moreover, pharmaceutical substances are often engineered so that they remain unchanged during their passage through the body. Unfortunately, this stability means that they also persist outside the body and, as a consequence, can build up in the environment. Although levels are usually too low to result in acute effects such as organ damage, there are many cases globally where drugs have had drastic effects in the environment.
In Belarus there is a lack of policy regulation of management of obsolete pharmaceuticals, and basically there is no system of collection and management of obsolete pharmaceuticals generated by public. The situation is also characterized by a relatively low public awareness about the linkage between obsolete pharmaceuticals and the environmental protection.
The goal of the project is to put the topic of obsolete pharmaceuticals to the environmental and public health agenda in Belarus
Specific objectives of the project are the following:
1. To study the issue of pharmaceuticals in the environment of Belarus and best practices of dealing with the topic globally.
2. To organize consultative process to discuss and propose the solution for the problem
3. To raise awareness of public, health care sector, industry, pharmacies, and regulators about the issue of pharmaceuticals in the environment
4. To strengthen the capacity of CES as a public informational center, working in the area of chemical safety and waste in Belarus

The project objectives are in line with the priorities of the EU-NGOs Project to promote sustainable development and improved environmental management in the neighboring regions of the European Region through more effective civil society participation in environmental governance. The proposed activities will contribute to improved environmental management in Belarus and will ensure contribution of civil society to environmental governance of Belarus.