scholarly journals Local response in health emergencies: key considerations for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in informal urban settlements

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 503-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Wilkinson ◽  
Harris Ali ◽  
Juliet Bedford ◽  
Somsook Boonyabancha ◽  
Creighton Connolly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Protective Action ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Informal Urban Settlements

This paper highlights the major challenges and considerations for addressing COVID-19 in informal settlements. It discusses what is known about vulnerabilities and how to support local protective action. There is heightened concern about informal urban settlements because of the combination of population density and inadequate access to water and sanitation, which makes standard advice about social distancing and washing hands implausible. There are further challenges to do with the lack of reliable data and the social, political and economic contexts in each setting that will influence vulnerability and possibilities for action. The potential health impacts of COVID-19 are immense in informal settlements, but if control measures are poorly executed these could also have severe negative impacts. Public health interventions must be balanced with social and economic interventions, especially in relation to the informal economy upon which many poor urban residents depend. Local residents, leaders and community-based groups must be engaged and resourced to develop locally appropriate control strategies, in partnership with local governments and authorities. Historically, informal settlements and their residents have been stigmatized, blamed, and subjected to rules and regulations that are unaffordable or unfeasible to adhere to. Responses to COVID-19 should not repeat these mistakes. Priorities for enabling effective control measures include: collaborating with local residents who have unsurpassed knowledge of relevant spatial and social infrastructures, strengthening coordination with local governments, and investing in improved data for monitoring the response in informal settlements.

scholarly journals GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN RELATION TO INFORMAL URBAN SETTLEMENTS

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olumuyiwa Bayode ADEGUN
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure ◽  
Informal Urban Settlements

Green infrastructure plays a critical role in environmentally sustainable urbanization in developing countries. Based on a review of academic outputs, this paper explores green infrastructure in the context of informal urban settlements. It identifies three ways informal settlements are connected to green spaces and natural ecosystems functioning as urban green infrastructure and then shows examples of benefits derived (ecosystem services) by the urban poor from these connections. Undesirable aspects and negative outcomes, regarded as ecosystem disservices, from the connection to natural ecosystems are also pointed out. The potentials of enhancing ecosystem services in terms of improving quality of life and the environment in informal settlements came to the fore. This work contributes to the growing body of knowledge on urban green infrastructure from the perspective of informal settlements in developing countries.

scholarly journals Informal urbanism and the Internet of Things: Reliability, trust and the reconfiguration of infrastructure

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (14) ◽  
pp. 2918-2935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Chambers ◽  
James Evans
Keyword(s):  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Substantial Portion ◽  
Poor Access ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Informal Urbanism ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Informal Urban Settlements ◽  
The Internet Of Things ◽  
Smart Urbanism

Of the build out of humanity predicted up to the end of the century, a substantial portion will occur within informal urban settlements – areas characterised by poor access to infrastructure and services. There is a pressing need to better understand how and with what implications the growing proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, as a component of smart urbanism, are being applied to address the challenges of these areas. The following paper addresses this research gap, showing how IoT technology is reconfiguring trust within water and energy infrastructures in Nairobi. We apply work on informal urban infrastructures and smart urbanism to three case studies, producing novel insights into how IoT technologies reconfigure connections between users, providers and infrastructures. This reconfiguration of trust smooths chronic infrastructural uncertainties and generates reliability within informal settlements and, in doing so, leads to increased personal economies. We conclude by considering how these examples provide insights into the implications of IoT for everyday urbanisms in informal settlements and how these insights relate to global smart city debates more widely.

In a state of slum: governance in an informal urban settlement in Ghana

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stacey ◽  
Christian Lund
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Informal Settlement ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Urban Settlement ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Informal Urban Settlements

ABSTRACTOld Fadama in Accra, Ghana, is a vast informal settlement. A legalistic approach by successive governments has meant a near-absence of statutory institutions and the emergence of alternative public authorities. These endeavour to provide the area with a range of basic public services to solve the area's serious developmental challenges. Through processes of informal negotiation residents establish rights and social contracts that underpin and define what will constitute ideas of state and law. At the same time, self-governance emerges while relations with statutory institutions shift back and forth between vilification, tacit acceptance, and productive cooperation. The article contributes to studies of governance in informal urban settlements on two fronts. First, it shows how informal arrangements lead to the provision of basic public services and influence the workings of formal institutions of government. Second, it challenges facile understandings of large-scale informal settlements as generally chaotic, lawless or subversive.

Factors Influencing Choices for Early Marriage in Urban Informal Settlements of Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-320
Author(s):  
Raia Azmi ◽  
Md Uzzal Chowdhury ◽  
Hasna Hena Sara ◽  
Subas Chandra Biswas ◽  
Sairana Ahsan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Early Marriage ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
School Crime ◽  
Girl Child ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Urban Informal Settlements ◽  
Community Pressure ◽  
Informal Urban Settlements

This study explores factors that shape parents’ decisions as to whether or not to arrange an early marriage of a girl child in the context of urban informal settlements in Bangladesh. The article draws on data from a larger mixed methods study conducted in two informal urban settlements of Bangladesh, and the analysis was guided by the theory of social exchange. The study found the following factors leading to early marriage: endemic poverty, high dowry costs for older girls, parents’ lack of wider social networks, adolescents dropping out of school, crime and insecurity, love affairs between adolescents and community pressure. Collaboration between government and non-government programmes to improve education, implementation of supportive laws, and greater formal economic opportunities for residents, including adolescents, in urban informal settlements, are critical to prevent early marriage in these environments.

scholarly journals High endemicity of Clonorchis sinensis infection in Binyang County, southern China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junling Sun ◽  
Hualei Xin ◽  
Zhihua Jiang ◽  
Menbao Qian ◽  
Kaixia Duan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern China ◽  
Clonorchis Sinensis ◽  
Infection Intensity ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Fresh Fish ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Raw Fish ◽  
The Impact

Abstract BackgroundHigh-intensity clonorchiasis infection is associated with serious outcomes, even cancers. Understanding the infection intensity of Clonorchis sinensis and the impact factors in local endemic regions would facilitate effective control measures. Methods In a county located in a highly endemic area in Guangxi Province, P. R. China, local residents were randomly enrolled in the study; helminth egg examinations were performed with the Kato-Katz method, and the intensity of infection was identified as mild, moderate or heavy. Knowledge, attitudes, and high-risk behaviours were investigated among those infected with Clonorchis sinensis . Results A total of 2521 local residents participated in this study, and the Clonorchis sinensis infection proportion was 28.9% (728 persons). Among the infected persons, the percentages of mild, moderate and heavy infections were 66.2%, 28.4% and 5.4%, respectively. Males experienced a higher proportion of moderate and heavy infections (37.5%) than females (18.1%) (p<0.05). The highest infection proportion among the different levels of infection intensity was identified among persons aged 30-59 years (15.7% for moderate and heavy infections). Among the 509 persons who reported eating raw fish, 302 persons (59.3%) had eaten raw fresh fish for more than 10 years, and 131 (25.7%) persons ate raw fish ≥12 times a year. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that eating raw fish 12-50 times in the last year (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.74, 95%CI: 1.09-2.80) and eating raw fish >50 times in the last year (aOR = 2.89, 95%CI: 1.20-7.50) were risk factors of higher infection intensity (moderate and heavy). Conclusions The overall infection proportion was high in the study area, with a large group of residents experiencing high-intensity infections. Intervention strategies should be implemented with people with a high frequency of raw fish consumption to reduce the probability of severe consequences.

Potential impacts of slum urbanisation on channel bank storage in the Bang Pakong River, Thailand

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Harriden
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Balance Equations ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Recharge Rates ◽  
Water Quality Deterioration ◽  
Informal Urban Settlements ◽  
Storage Processes

Generally regarded as social phenomena, this paper regards slum urbanisation as an environmental actor. Specifically, how slum developments modify hydrogeomorphological processes motivates this research. Using the Bang Pakong River, eastern Thailand, as a case study, a literature review was conducted. The literature reviewed indicated changes in physical processes such as channel bank stability, water quality, flow regimes and the hydrological balance equations can occur with slum development. Given the importance of channel banks as the physical basis of many slum sites, this paper focuses on the possible changes to channel bank storage in the Bang Pakong River following slum urbanisation. The research highlights possible changes to channel bank storage processes, notably decreased storage recharge rates; increased anthropogenic extraction; and probable water quality deterioration. Deeper scientific understanding of how river processes are affected by specific forms of urban development can contribute to better management of both informal urban settlements and rivers.

Characterizing the effectiveness of COVID-19 mitigation measures: A data-centric approach (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukman Olagoke ◽  
Ahmet E. Topcu
Keyword(s):  
Control Measure ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
The World ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND COVID-19 represents a serious threat to both national health and economic systems. To curb this pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a series of COVID-19 public safety guidelines. Different countries around the world initiated different measures in line with the WHO guidelines to mitigate and investigate the spread of COVID-19 in their territories. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of these control measures using a data-centric approach. METHODS We begin with a simple text analysis of coronavirus-related articles and show that reports on similar outbreaks in the past strongly proposed similar control measures. This reaffirms the fact that these control measures are in order. Subsequently, we propose a simple performance statistic that quantifies general performance and performance under the different measures that were initiated. A density based clustering of based on performance statistic was carried out to group countries based on performance. RESULTS The performance statistic helps evaluate quantitatively the impact of COVID-19 control measures. Countries tend show variability in performance under different control measures. The performance statistic has negative correlation with cases of death which is a useful characteristics for COVID-19 control measure performance analysis. A web-based time-line visualization that enables comparison of performances and cases across continents and subregions is presented. CONCLUSIONS The performance metric is relevant for the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 control measures. This can help caregivers and policymakers identify effective control measures and reduce cases of death due to COVID-19. The interactive web visualizer provides easily digested and quick feedback to augment decision-making processes in the COVID-19 response measures evaluation. CLINICALTRIAL Not Applicable

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Epidemic Preventive Policies and Hospital Strategies in Combating COVID-19 Outbreak in Taiwan

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3456
Author(s):  
Ting Wan Tan ◽  
Han Ling Tan ◽  
Man Na Chang ◽  
Wen Shu Lin ◽  
Chih Ming Chang
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Incidence Rate ◽  
Risk Ratio ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction Test ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽  
Preventive Strategies ◽  
Epidemic Control

(1) Background: The implementation of effective control measures in a timely fashion is crucial to control the epidemic outbreak of COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to analyze the control measures implemented during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as evaluating the responses and outcomes at different phases for epidemic control in Taiwan. (2) Methods: This case study reviewed responses to COVID-19 and the effectiveness of a range of control measures implemented for epidemic control in Taiwan and assessed all laboratory-confirmed cases between 11 January until 20 December 2020, inclusive of these dates. The confirmation of COVID-19 infection was defined as the positive result of a reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction test taken from a nasopharyngeal swab. Test results were reported by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. The incidence rate, mortality rate, and testing rate were compiled, and the risk ratio was provided to gain insights into the effectiveness of prevention measures. (3) Results and Discussion: This study presents retrospective data on the COVID-19 incidence rate in Taiwan, combined with the vital preventive control measures, in a timeline of the early stage of the epidemic that occurred in Taiwan. The implementation of multiple strategy control measures and the assistance of technologies to control the COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan led to a relatively slower trend in the outbreak compared to the neighboring countries. In Taiwan, 766 confirmed patients were included, comprised of 88.1% imported cases and 7.2% local transmission cases, within the studied period. The incidence rate of COVID-19 in Taiwan during the studied period was 32 per million people, with a mortality rate of 0.3 per million people. Our analysis showed a significantly raised incidence risk ratio in the countries of interest in comparison to Taiwan during the study period; in the range of 1.9 to 947.5. The outbreak was brought under control through epidemic policies and hospital strategies implemented by the Taiwan Government. (4) Conclusion: Taiwan’s preventive strategies resulted in a drastically lower risk for Taiwan nationals of contracting COVID-19 when new pharmaceutical drug or vaccines were not yet available. The preventive strategies employed by Taiwan could serve as a guide and reference for future epidemic control strategies.

scholarly journals Molecular Identification of Mushroom Species in Italy: An Ongoing Project Aimed at Reinforcing the Control Measures of an Increasingly Appreciated Sustainable Food

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 238
Author(s):  
Alice Giusti ◽  
Enrica Ricci ◽  
Laura Gasperetti ◽  
Marta Galgani ◽  
Luca Polidori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Winning Strategy ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Mushroom Poisoning ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Mushroom Species ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Genotypic Analysis

Proper investment in mushroom production (farming and wild mushroom picking activities) may represent a winning strategy for many countries, including Italy, to better face the problems of food security and environmental impact, and to break away from imports, enhancing the local products. However, the risk related to the consumption of poisoning species requires governments to implement or reinforce effective control measures to protect consumers. Mushroom identification by phenotype observation is hardly applicable if morphologically-similar species, non-whole specimens, or clinical samples are involved. Genotypic analysis is a valid alternative. An ongoing research project involving the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lazio and Tuscany, the regional Mycological Inspectorate, the Tuscany Mycological Groups Association, and the Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pisa aims to reinforce the collaboration among institutions for the management of mushroom poisoning. The core’s project aims to develop an internal genetic database to support the identification of wild and cultivated mushroom species in the Italian territory. The database will include Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequences retrieved from official databases (the NCBI GenBank and the BOLD system) which are considered to be reliable, after a proper selection process, and sequences from specimens collected directly and identified by expert mycologists. Once it is validated, the database will be available and further implementable by the official network of national laboratories.

scholarly journals Timing and Route of Contamination of Patient Rooms With Healthcare-Associated Pathogens

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s412-s412
Author(s):  
Sarah Redmond ◽  
Jennifer Cadnum ◽  
Basya Pearlmutter ◽  
Natalia Pinto Herrera ◽  
Curtis Donskey
Keyword(s):  
Acute Care Hospital ◽  
Current Control ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Spa Typing ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Healthcare Associated

Background: Transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens such as Clostridioides difficile and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a persistent problem in healthcare facilities despite current control measures. A better understanding of the routes of pathogen transmission is needed to develop effective control measures. Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study in an acute-care hospital to identify the timing and route of transfer of pathogens to rooms of newly admitted patients with negative MRSA nares results and no known carriage of other healthcare-associated pathogens. Rooms were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to patient admission. Interactions of patients with personnel and portable equipment were observed, and serial cultures for pathogens were collected from the skin of patients and from surfaces, including those observed to come in contact with personnel and equipment. For MRSA, spa typing was used to determine relatedness of patient and environmental isolates. Results: For the 17 patients enrolled, 1 or more environmental cultures became positive for MRSA in rooms of 10 patients (59%), for C. difficile in rooms of 2 patients (12%) and for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in rooms of 2 patients (12%). The patients interacted with an average of 2.4 personnel and 0.6 portable devices per hour of observation. As shown in Figure 1, MRSA contamination of the floor occurred rapidly as personnel entered the room. In a subset of patients, MRSA was subsequently recovered from patients’ socks and bedding and ultimately from the high-touch surfaces in the room (tray table, call button, bedrail). For several patients, MRSA isolates recovered from the floor had the same spa type as isolates subsequently recovered from other sites (eg, socks, bedding, and/or high touch surfaces). The direct transfer of healthcare-associated pathogens from personnel or equipment to high-touch surfaces was not detected. Conclusions: Healthcare-associated pathogens rapidly accumulate on the floor of patient rooms and can be transferred to the socks and bedding of patients and to high-touch surfaces. Healthcare facility floors may be an underappreciated source of pathogen dissemination not addressed by current infection control measures.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

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