EURENI project WaterEDUCare helps healthcare professionals protect water resources through online training

How do pharmaceutical residues from hospitals end up in rivers, lakes, and seas? And what can be done to prevent this? The EURENI project is helping healthcare professionals strengthen environmental and water protection.

Pharmaceutical residues in hospital wastewater can pollute water bodies and contribute to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The project “WaterEDUCare – Tackling Antibiotic Pollution from Healthcare Wastewater” addresses this challenge by supporting healthcare professionals in integrating environmental and water protection into their daily practice.

Through WaterEDUCare, the project has developed a digital training programme for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and hospital management professionals.

The interactive learning modules provide practical knowledge and actionable guidance for everyday work. They explain how pharmaceutical residues enter the environment and provide guidance on how healthcare institutions can develop effective measures to reduce their environmental impact. Topics include the safe disposal of pharmaceuticals, environmentally responsible prescribing practices, and improvements in waste and environmental management.

WaterEDUCare builds on the existing EU-funded AMR-EDUCare project, which has already trained healthcare professionals across Europe on antimicrobial resistance. The new module expands this approach by focusing on water and environmental protection. It follows the One Health approach, which recognises the close connection between human, animal, and environmental health.

The training programme is available free of charge in English, German, and Spanish.

Alongside the training programme, the project has launched the awareness campaign “The Sea Begins in This Hospital”. The campaign demonstrates how decisions made in healthcare settings can affect water resources and the environment.

The campaign includes an animated video, posters on the proper management of pharmaceutical waste, information materials, and webinars. These resources support learning and awareness-raising in hospitals, educational institutions, and other healthcare settings and are designed for both professionals and students.

In addition, the project partners are working to integrate the materials into education and continuing professional development programmes over the long term. This will help ensure that both future and current healthcare professionals are aware of the environmental impacts of pharmaceutical residues and their role in addressing AMR.

WaterEDUCare was developed by Health Care Without Harm Europe in collaboration with partners from several European countries. The project is funded under the European Environment Initiative (EURENI) and managed by Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN).