Trace elements in groundwater near an abandoned mine tailings dam and health risk assessment (NE Zimbabwe)

Groundwater from shallow hand-dug wells at an abandoned gold mine tailings dam was characterised for selected physicochemical parameters during dry and wet seasons of 2018 and 2019. Health risk exposure of the local population (adults and children) through ingestion and dermal exposure was assessed. Groundwater quality parameters were lower than international drinking water quality guidelines (p < 0.05). The parameters were significantly influenced by season of the year (As, Cl−, SO42−), nature (As, Cd, Cl−, Fe, NO3−, SO42−), depth (Cd, Cl−, Fe, Ni, SO42−) and direction of the well (Cu, Cl−, Fe, NO3−, Pb, SO42−) (p < 0.05) relative to the tailings dam. Groundwater did not pose non-carcinogenic risk due to studied trace elements. However, arsenic had the potential to cause medium to high cancer risk to the local population. We propose re-vegetation of the tailings dam, diversion of surface tailings drainage to a containment pond and the provision of continuous piped water supplies

Commentary on the Organisation of Occupational Health and Safety in Southern Africa, the International Labour Organization and Policies in General

Background: The design and implementation of sound occupational health and safety (OHS) programmes require understanding of the main issues that need attention. This article highlights key issues regarding the (i) organisation of OHS services in southern Africa, (ii) role of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the provision of OHS services and (iii) implementation of policies in general. Methods: Relevant peer-reviewed journal articles, ILO conventions and policies were identified and discussed. Results: Inadequacies that exist on the organisation of OHS services in southern Africa include (i) lack of some critical categories of OHS practitioners, (ii) no emphasis on the surveillance of the work environment (iii) disregard of the worker’s right to refuse to work in unsafe work environments and (iv)non-coverage of some sectors of the economy. Further research is needed to identify additional efforts that the ILO requires to effectively discharge its OHS promotion mandate. Conclusion: Responsible authorities need to attend to the shortcomings of the national OSH laws and intergovernmental pacts

Predictors of hand hygiene behaviours among primary and secondary school children in a rural district setting in Zimbabwe: A cross-sectional epidemiologic study

© 2020, IWA Publishing. All rights reserved. Hand hygiene is one of the most effective and efficient ways of controlling faecal–oral diseases. However, little is known about the predictors of hand hygiene behaviours among school children. A predesigned checklist guide was used to observe hygiene behaviours of 460 pupils from four rural schools in Shamva South district, Zimbabwe. A pretested questionnaire was administered to obtain demographic data of the observed school children. Membership of a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) club, age, gender and the level of education were associated with hand hygiene practices (p \u3c 0.05). The findings indicated that investing in hand hygiene behaviour change processes among school children using the promotion, formation, resuscitation and empowerment of WASH clubs in schools is important in disease prevention among communities in developing countries

Contamination of Soil with Pb and Sb at a Lead-Acid Battery Dumpsite and Their Potential Early Uptake by Phragmites australis

Recycling of spent Lead-Acid Batteries (LABs) and disposal of process slag potentially contaminate soil with Pb and Sb. Total and available concentrations of Pb and Sb in three soil treatments and parts of Phragmites australis were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Soil with nonrecycled slag (NR) had higher total metal concentrations than that with recycled slag (RS). Low available fractions of Pb and Sb were found in the soil treatments before planting P. australis. After 16 weeks of growth of P. australis, the available fractions of Pb had no statistical difference from initial values (p>0.05) while available Sb fractions were significantly lower when compared with their initial values (p<0.05). Metal transfer factors showed that P. australis poorly accumulate Pb and Sb in roots and very poorly translocate them to leaves after growing for 8 and 16 weeks. It may be a poor phytoextractor of Pb and Sb in metal-contaminated soil at least for the 16 weeks of its initial growth. However, the plant established itself on the metalliferous site where all vegetation had been destroyed. This could be useful for potential ecological restoration. The long-term phytoextraction potential of P. australis in such environments as LABs may need further investigation

Drivers and barriers to sustained use of Blair ventilated improved pit latrine after nearly four decades in rural Zimbabwe

BACKGROUND : Some latrines remain unused even under conditions of high coverage in rural areas of low-and middle-income countries. Not much is known on household latrine use in the long term in the absence of an intervention. The current work assesses drivers and barriers to sustained use of a ventilated improved pit latrine (Blair VIP) design where it originated and how rural households adapt it to climate change. METHODS : A mixed methods study was conducted from November 2020 to May 2021 among rural households of Mbire district, Zimbabwe. A cross sectional survey of 238 households with Blair ventilated improved pit (BVIP) latrines was conducted using a questionnaire and a latrine observation checklist. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Qualitative data were collected using six focus groups among house heads and analysed by thematic analysis. RESULT : The latrine has perceived health, non-health and hygiene benefits for its sustained use. However, there are design, environmental and social barriers. The quantitative study indicated that determinants of latrine use were contextual (individual and household levels) and technology (individual level) factors. Focus groups indicated that latrine use was influenced by social, technology and contextual factors at multiple level factors. Interplay of factors influenced the intention to adapt the BVIP latrine to climate change. Local climate change adaptation strategies for the latrine were odour and erosion control, construction of the conventional latrine design and raised structures. CONCLUSION : The conventional BVIP latrine design is durable and relatively resilient to climate change with high local household use. High construction cost of the latrine causes households to build incomplete and poor quality designs which affect odour and fly control. These are barriers to sustained latrine use. The government should implement the new sanitation policy which considers alternative sanitation options and offer community support for adapting sanitation to climate change.SUPPORTING INFORMATION : S1 Fig. Modified steps of the focus group discussion technique with permission [43]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265077.s001S1 Table. Integrated behavioural model for water, sanitation and hygiene [30]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265077.s002S1 File. Latrine use household questionnaire. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265077.s003S2 File. Informed consent document. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265077.s004S3 File. Blair ventilated improved pit latrine construction checklist. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265077.s005S4 File. Focus group discussion guide. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265077.s006S5 File. Phases of thematic analysis [46]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265077.s007http://www.plosone.orgdm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Effect of sanitation interventions on health outcomes : a systematic review of cluster-randomized controlled trials in rural communities of low- and middle-income countries

A systematic review of published literature (2000–2019) evaluating the impact of sanitation interventions on the prevalence of disease, parasite infestation, and/or child growth using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was done according to the PRISMA checklist. Earlier reviews indicated mixed evidence citing relatively poor quality evidence from mixed designs. Public health policy and practice appear to rely on evidence from RCTs. Records were searched in six electronic databases. The methodological quality of RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration risk of bias tool. Fifteen records (2.0%) were included for review. Impact trials were done in rural communities of African and Asian countries. The significant effect of sanitation-focus interventions was found in one trial for the prevalence of childhood diarrhea (14.3%), three trials for parasite infestation (37.5%), and two trials (25.0%) for child growth. Results indicate mixed quality evidence from RCT designs. Evidence is limited and suggestive of the impact of sanitation on parasite infestation and child growth. Further rigorous sanitation intervention trials under varying settings are needed to show what really works and under what settings. Future work may explore sanitation behavior change strategies and latrine options to address the challenges of poor latrine use under high sanitation coverage.Table S1: Assessment of risk of bias for 15 RCTs used to determine the impact of sanitation on health outcomes (Adapted from The Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias).https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerpham2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Frameworks for selecting appropriate rural sanitation technology options in low- and middle-income countries : a critical review

Several rural technology options exist on the sanitation market with different characteristics, yet project failures in some developing countries were attributable to inappropriate technology choices. Frameworks that are used to select sanitation technology options (hard copy, computer programmes) were developed by researchers and project implementers. They vary in design and application as there is no standard format. This appears to create a gap between science and practice. Frameworks should have some key elements needed to select appropriate sanitation technologies. We evaluated 12 available frameworks (2000–2019) used to select sanitation technologies in rural communities of low- and middle-income countries against 22 assessment criteria derived from literature. Criteria that were not fully addressed by some of the reviewed frameworks (scores of 8–50%) included equity, sanitation demand, sanitation behaviour change, ongoing contact, replicability, framework limitations, personnel selection and flexibility. Addressing such limitations may assist in future framework development.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cije20hj2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Adapting sanitation needs to a latrine design (and its upgradable models) : a mixed method study under lower middle-income rural settings

Rural households have latrine preferences and unique sanitation needs. An assessment of how rural households adapt their sanitation needs to a nationally encouraged latrine design was done. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 790 households in a rural district of Zimbabwe from November 2020 to May 2021. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Qualitative data were collected using focus groups and analysed using thematic analysis. Analyses were done in STATA 16 and considered significant at p < 0.05. There was low adoption of the Blair ventilated improved pit latrine and its upgradable models. Significant predictor variables of BVIP latrine adoption were mainly contextual and psychosocial at the individual and household levels. They included source and level of household income, residence period, nature of homestead, number of cattle owned, knowledge of sanitation options and perceived high latrine cost. The latrine design was considered not a pro-poor option as it was unaffordable by many rural households resulting in its non-completion, poor-quality designs, alternative options, sharing and open defaecation. Poverty appears the main barrier for latrine ownership. However, a window of opportunity to improve access to sanitation in rural Zimbabwe exists by considering alternative sanitation options and financial investment mechanisms.Supplementary File 1. Multistage sampling of households for Mbire district survey, northern Zimbabwe, 2021.Supplementary File 2. Summary of selected households for Mbire district survey, Zimbabwe, 2021.Supplementary File 3. Questionnaire for Mbire district, Zimbabwe Questionnaire ID.Supplementary File 4. Focus group guide.Supplementary File 5. The integrated behavioural model for water, sanitation, and hygiene (IBM-WASH).Supplementary File 6. Informed consent form.Supplementary File 7. Characteristics of participants in focus group discussions, Mbire district, northern Zimbabwe, 2021 (n = 39).https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainabilitydm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Current Status and the Future of Occupational Safety and Health Legislation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

This article addresses three key issues. First, the commonalities, differences, strengths, and limitations of existing occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation of low- and middle-income countries were determined. Second, required revisions were identified and discussed to strengthen the laws in accordance with the best international practice. Finally, proposals for additional OSH laws and interventions were suggested. A literature search of OSH laws of 10 selected low- and middle-income countries was carried out. The laws were subjected to uniform review criteria. Although the agricultural sector employs more than 70% of the population, most of the reviewed countries lack OSH legislation on the sector. Existing OSH laws are gender insensitive, fragmented among various government departments, insufficient, outdated, and nondeterrent to perpetrators and lack incentives for compliance. Conclusively, the legal frameworks require reformation and harmonization for the collective benefit to employees, employers, and regulatory authorities. New OSH legislation for the agricultural sector is required. Keywords: Harmonization, Legislation, Low- and middle-income country, Occupational safety and health, Refor

Investigation of Some Metals in Leaves and Leaf Extracts of Lippia javanica: Its Daily Intake

Consumption of plant extracts can be a source of essential elements or a route of human exposure to toxicants. Metal concentrations in leaves, leaf brew, and infusion of L. javanica collected from five sites were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry after acid and aqueous extraction. Estimated daily intakes of metals in extracts were compared with recommended dietary allowances. Total metal concentrations in leaves varied with sampling sites (p Fe > Cu > Cr > Pb for sites SS2–SS5. The highest metal concentrations in leaves were recorded for SS3 (Cu: 15.32±4.53 and Mn: 734.99±105.49), SS5 (Fe: 210.27±17.17), SS2 (Pb: 3.11±0.21), and SS4 (Cr: 4.40±0.75 mg/kg). Leaf infusion appeared to release higher Cu and Mn concentrations in leaves across sites (Cu: 21.65; Mn: 28.01%) than leaf brew (Cu: 11.95; Mn: 19.74%). Lead was not detected in leaf extracts. Estimated dietary intakes of Cr, Cu, Fe, and Mn were below recommended dietary allowances. A 250 ml cup of leaf infusion contributed 0.30–1.18% Cu and 4.46–13.83% Mn to the recommended dietary allowances of these elements per day. Lead did not pose any potential hazard when consumed in tea beverage made from brew and infusion of leaves of L. javanica