Dataset Information

Public Health Burden of E-waste in Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Environmental impacts from informal e-waste recycling are increasing in Africa. E-waste handling and disposal exposes people to highly toxic cocktails of heavy metals, brominated flame retardants, non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PBDF) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCB). Most of these compounds are endocrine disrupters, and most are neuro- and immune-toxic as well.

Objectives

Informal e-waste recycling in African countries is a serious public health threat. The present paper reviews the extent of e-waste exposure in Africa and related impacts on people, animals and the environment.

Methods

Four electronic databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar) were searched for publications related to e-waste and human health in Africa. Search terms included 'e-waste in Africa', 'e-waste in developing nations', 'public health and e-waste', 'environment and e-waste', and 'e-waste and health'.

Discussion

Elevated levels of e-waste pollutants in water, air, soil, dust, fish, vegetable, and human matrices (blood, urine, breast milk) indicate that not only are e-waste workers at risk from exposure to e-waste, but the general population and future generations as well. Headache, cough and chest pain, stomach discomfort, miscarriage, abnormal thyroid and reproductive function, reduction of gonadal hormone, and cancer are common complaints of those involved with the processing of e-waste.

Conclusions

The evidence presented from the reviewed studies illustrates the extent of the human health and environmental risks posed by e-waste in Africa. There is a need for a regulatory framework including specific legislation, infrastructure and protocols to safely recycle and dispose of e-waste in sub-Saharan African countries.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

SUBMITTER: Orisakwe OE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6555250 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Public Health Burden of E-waste in Africa.

Orisakwe Orish Ebere OE Frazzoli Chiara C Ilo Cajetan Elochukwu CE Oritsemuelebi Benjamin B

Journal of health & pollution 20190604 22

<h4>Background</h4>Environmental impacts from informal e-waste recycling are increasing in Africa. E-waste handling and disposal exposes people to highly toxic cocktails of heavy metals, brominated flame retardants, non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PBDF) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCB). Most of these compounds are endocrine disrupters, and most are n ...[more]

PMID: 31259086

Similar Datasets

Project description:South Africa (SA) is reforming its health system in preparation for an anticipated national health insurance (NHI) scheme that aims to improve the delivery of affordable, equitable, accessible health care. Public health (PH) language is explicit in the policy and skilled PH professionals would be expected to play a key role in its implementation. In South Africa, training of doctors as Public Health Medicine (PHM) specialists is funded by the state, yet there are few positions for PHM specialists in the health services. We explored stakeholders' perspectives about this absence, and their views on PHM specialist' roles and contribution in an era of health reform. A qualitative study was conducted in 2012-13, using in-depth interviews with thematic analysis, which elicited perspectives of 31 key stakeholders nationally reflecting diverse employer and institutional backgrounds. While some were surprised by the absence of PH professionals in SA's health system, most agreed the reason was due to factors internal to the profession, such as its low profile and uncertain identity. External factors such as legislation and political preferences for health managers impacted on the employment of PH professionals. However, given the competencies required to implement an ambitious restructuring of the health sector, all believed that PH and PHM personnel were vital. In view of the health system's dominant curative orientation, embedding PH personnel in the services should ensure that health protection, promotion and prevention strategies will inform health priorities. This study, the first known from a low and middle-income country, contributes to the international literature about the identity and roles of PHM physicians, who are versatile professionals with broad skills-sets. In SA, through consultation with health sector employers about potential roles, curricular redesign and trainee recruitment, PHM can graduate fit-for-purpose specialists to work in a range of institutions to address health system reform.

Project description:Public health (PH) skills are core to building responsive and appropriate health systems, and PH personnel including medical specialists are embedded in many countries' health systems. In South Africa, the medical specialty in PH, Public Health Medicine (PHM), has existed for over 40 years. Four years of accredited training plus success in a single national exit exam allows specialist registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). However, there are few posts designated specifically for PHM specialists in SA's health system. In view of uncertain roles, this research was designed to determine specialists' career paths, their work, job satisfaction, and perspectives on the future of the specialty. We combined three databases to generate the study population and invited all specialists to participate in an online or hard-copy survey. We found that in 2010, PHM was a small specialty of less 200 physicians. Of the 151 contactable, eligible physicians, 55.6% completed the questionnaire. Participants represented an aging group (median age = 49) of specialists and recent graduates were increasingly women. They largely worked in academic institutions (as managers, teachers, and researchers) and in the public sector health system; were motivated by a sense of social justice and their training was formative, exposing them to work settings which they later entered; were largely highly satisfied at work, but many worked in non-specialist positions. Indeed, one fifth had not registered with the HPCSA as specialists. They were concerned about the specialty's poor visibility and identity, but did not see other PH professionals as a threat. They believed that the specialty should refine its competencies, demonstrate its value and advocate for service positions at all levels of the public sector health service. PHM has a contribution to make-reorienting services to protect communities, preventing ill health, analyzing disease burdens locally, identifying innovations in a resource-constrained health service, largely preoccupied with curative care services.

Project description:BackgroundHealthcare waste produced in healthcare activities entails higher risk of infection and injuries than municipal waste. In developing countries healthcare waste has not received much attention and has been disposed of together with municipal wastes. Modern method of disposal of healthcare waste have been introduced to most healthcare institutions mismanagement and increased in production in public health centres in Ethiopia is important issues. The aim of the study was to assess the type of healthcare waste generation and quantification in selected public health centres in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsAn institution based cross-sectional study were conducted from January to February 2018. Fifteen health centres in Addis Ababa City Administration were selected for this study. Data were collected by using by different color plastic bags (Black plastic bags for non-hazardous wastes, Yellow plastic bags for hazardous wastes and Yellow safety box for needles and Red bags for pharmaceutical wastes and toxic wastes). The collected wastes were measured by weighing scale and were written to data entry sheet. To assure the data quality calibration of weighing scale was made by the standard weight every morning. EPI INFO TM7 and IBM SPSS were used for data entry, cleaning and analysis.ResultsThe mean healthcare waste generation was 10.64+5.79Kg/day of which 37.26% (3.96+2.20Kg/day) was general waste and 62.74% (6.68+4.29) was hazardous waste from the studies health centres. Total hazardous waste; sharps, infectious, pathological and pharmaceutical wastes constitutes mean (±SD) 0.97 ±1.03, 3.23 ± 2.60, 2.17±1.92 and 0.25 ±0.34 kg/day respectively. Healthcare waste 29.93% and 0.32% were generated from delivery and post-natal case team and nutrition and growth monitoring case team respectively. The annual mean+ SD of healthcare waste generation rate per health centres were 3807.53+ 2109.84 Kg/year.ConclusionThe finding in this study showed there was an increased in hazardous healthcare waste in amount as compared to the WHO standard 85% non-hazardous waste and 10% hazardous waste and 5% toxic wastes. The healthcare waste management practices about segregation, collection, transportation and disposal at the source is crucial to decrease in quantity. Generally unselective handling and disposal of healthcare wastes is a concern.

Dataset Information

Public Health Burden of E-waste in Africa.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusions

Competing interests

Publications

Public Health Burden of E-waste in Africa.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets