Institute for systems science, innovation and sustainability science, Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Int J Environ Health Res. 2021 Sep;31(6):670-686. doi: 10.1080/09603123.2019.1680818. Epub 2019 Oct 24.
Despite significant knowledge about the potential health hazards of waste, there are few studies in African cities that investigate awareness of health issues related to waste management, although such research is needed to lower population exposure. This paper examines the case study of Accra in Ghana, a city dealing with serious health and pollution problems. Three focus groups and 157 households in Accra were surveyed on household waste disposal and awareness of waste-related health hazards. Surveyed households had limited knowledge of waste-related health hazards in their neighbourhoods. Although the households reported diseases that could be associated with environmental factors linked to waste management, 87% of all surveyed households did not think that someone in their household could have fallen ill of a disease that can be related to waste. In middle- and high-income neighbourhoods, waste burning increases substantially when waste is not collected.
尽管人们对废物可能带来的健康危害有了一定的认识，但在非洲城市中，几乎没有研究调查与废物管理相关的健康问题的意识，尽管这类研究对于降低人群暴露风险是必要的。本文以加纳阿克拉市为例，研究了一个面临严重健康和污染问题的城市。对阿克拉的三个焦点小组和 157 户家庭进行了调查，了解家庭垃圾处理情况和对与垃圾相关的健康危害的认识。接受调查的家庭对其所在社区的与垃圾相关的健康危害知之甚少。尽管这些家庭报告了一些可能与与废物管理相关的环境因素有关的疾病，但所有接受调查的家庭中，仍有 87%的家庭认为其家中没有人可能会因与垃圾有关的疾病而生病。在中高收入社区，当垃圾未被收集时，垃圾焚烧量会大幅增加。
