The potential for financing small-scale wastewater treatment through resource recovery: experience from Bocas del Toro, Panama

The excreta of more than half of the world's population is discharged into the environment without treatment of any kind. Particularly in low- and middle-income countries with limited public finance for treatment infrastructure, resource recovery from wastewater has the potential to finance part of the costs of sanitation systems. Most assessments of resource-recovering treatment systems in low-income settings have focused on their technical performance. In this study, using data collected from 14 upward-flow anaerobic sludge blanket septic tanks in rural Panama, we estimate the proportion of waste treatment system costs that could be offset by biogas sales. We find that biogas revenues would cover between 26% and 49% of system operation and maintenance expenses, and would improve the net present value of the wastewater system investment by 8% to 15%. Aggregate stated demand for in-home biogas delivery among sample households is more than twice the volume of gas that could be generated by a system treating waste from the entire community. In Panama and other countries where public resources are devoted to subsidizing liquid propane gas, investment in wastewater treatment systems with biogas recovery could reduce the cost of energy provision to households while improving public and environmental health.

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Older People, Mobility and Transport in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of the Research

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11216157 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (21) ◽

pp. 6157 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mark Gorman ◽

Sion Jones ◽

Jeffrey Turner

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Low Income ◽

Well Being ◽

The State ◽

Small Scale ◽

Knowledge Gaps ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

The Impact ◽

Low And Middle Income

Older populations are rising globally, which in high-income countries has helped to generate a growing literature on the impact of ageing on travel requirements and transport policy. This article aims to provide an initial assessment of the state of knowledge on the impact on transportation policy and usage of the increasing numbers of older people in low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs), through a review of the literature relating to older people and transportation. As both the academic and policy/practice-related literature specifically addressing ageing and transport in LAMICs is limited, the study looks beyond transportation to assess the state of knowledge regarding the ways in which older people’s mobility is affected by issues, such as health, well-being, social (dis)engagement and gender. We find significant knowledge gaps, resulting in an evidence base to support the implementation of policy is lacking. Most research in low-income countries (LICs) is either broad quantitative analysis based on national survey data or small-scale qualitative studies. We conclude that, although study of the differing contexts of ageing in LAMICs as they relate to older people’s mobilities and transport use has barely begun, institutions which both make and influence policymaking recognise the existence of significant knowledge gaps. This should provide the context in which research agendas can be established.

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“In Line” Combined Storm and Wastewater Treatment System for Tropical Urban Drainage Catchments

Water Practice & Technology ◽

10.2166/wpt.2009.037 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Trina G. Listanco

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Low Income ◽

Treatment System ◽

Small Scale ◽

Urban Drainage ◽

Difficult Situation ◽

Wastewater Treatment System ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Rotating Biological Contactors ◽

Secondary Information

This paper presents a conceptualized combined storm and wastewater treatment system for typical low income, high density drainage catchment similar to the case of Manila City. In many developing and tropical port cities in low-lying floodplains, local and regional floods and non sewered communities compound in a problem that manifests in surface water pollution. This results in particularly difficult situation to introduce major sewerage infrastructure and a centralized wastewater treatment system. Thus, to initiate and invite discussions on different and possible solutions is necessary to address the need to provide appropriate treatment systems in rapidly growing cities and urban populations. This paper aims to contribute to such discussions by suggesting possible treatment processes achievable in limited, under exploited spaces in urban drainage networks. Also the paper mentions systematic estimations relevant to assess and theoretically simulate suggested treatment system. Following Hvitved-Jacobsen etal (2002) recognition of the role of sewers as bioreactors, the proposed system takes reviewed physical and biological techniques to be installed parallel to the track of drainage channels that provides neither on-site nor off-site approaches, but “inline” treatment. Essentially, the system integrates sewers or drains in the entire treatment system. The estimated primary and secondary information on both physical and socio-economic parameters in the study site, and the adapted “alternative” principles of decentralized, small scale systems yielded a multiple site designs including the following treatment processes and units: 1) inline fine and micro screening; 2) vegetated submerged beds (VSB); 3) rotating biological contactors (RBC); and 4) “biotowers”. All were designed to capture and reduce typical wastewater constituents (TSS, BOD, TKN and Coliforms) continuously during “dry” and “average wet” conditions until year 2025. The system embodies an effective and alternative wastewater treatment system for Philippine effluent standards, replicable in other tropical urban drainage catchments.

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Global hidden harvest of freshwater fish revealed by household surveys

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1721097115 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 115 (29) ◽

pp. 7623-7628 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Etienne Fluet-Chouinard ◽

Simon Funge-Smith ◽

Peter B. McIntyre

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Freshwater Fish ◽

Low Income ◽

Household Consumption ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Small Scale ◽

Middle Income ◽

Global Food Security ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Fishery Exploitation

Consumption of wild-caught freshwater fish is concentrated in low-income countries, where it makes a critical contribution to food security and livelihoods. Underestimation of inland harvests in official statistics has long been suspected due to unmonitored subsistence fisheries. To overcome the lack of data from extensive small-scale harvests, we used household consumption surveys to estimate freshwater fish catches in 42 low- and middle-income countries between 1997 and 2014. After accounting for trade and aquaculture, these countries collectively consumed 3.6 MT (CI, 1.5–5.8) more wild-caught freshwater fish than officially reported, reflecting a net underreporting of 64.8% (CI, 27.1–103.9%). Individual countries were more likely to underestimate (n = 31) than overestimate (n = 11) catches, despite conservative assumptions in our calculations. Extrapolating our findings suggests that the global inland catch reported as 10.3 MT in 2008 was more likely 16.6 MT (CI, 2.3–30.9), which accords with recent independent predictions for rivers and lakes. In human terms, these hidden harvests are equivalent to the total animal protein consumption of 36.9 (CI, 30.8–43.4) million people, including many who rely upon wild fish to achieve even minimal protein intake. The widespread underreporting uncovered by household consumption surveys indicates that inland fisheries contribute far more to global food security than has been recognized previously. Our findings also amplify concerns about the sustainability of intensive fishery exploitation as degradation of rivers, lakes, and wetlands continues apace.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 medical solid waste treatment: A need for efficient and effective strategies in low-resourced settings

Waste Management & Research ◽

10.1177/0734242x21998739 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0734242X2199873

Author(s):

Saverio Bellizzi ◽

Paola Murgia ◽

Antonella Angioi ◽

Gualtiero Canu ◽

Catello M Panu Napodano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Low Income ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Waste Treatment ◽

Low Cost ◽

Potential Effect ◽

Middle Income ◽

Waste Products ◽

Healthcare Waste ◽

Sustainable Protection

Understanding infections related to handling healthcare waste products is of critical importance and the application of simple and low-cost strategies remain a priority in low-income and middle-income countries to protect healthcare workers. We examined the potential effect of relative humidity (RH), air temperature and ultraviolet irradiation (UI) to establish an efficient and effective way to facilitate disposal of medical waste. Literature is emerging on the effect of high RH and high temperature, which would increase airborne mass deposition and decrease the viability of viruses in both airborne particles and on surfaces. On the other hand, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 has been proven to be susceptible to UI when suspended in air like other coronaviruses. An innovative approach utilizing environmental conditions might represent an effective and efficient way to ensure better and sustainable protection of the healthcare workers in low-resourced settings.

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The simple direct slide method is comparable to indirect Lowenstein Jensen proportion culture for detecting rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Journal of Medical Microbiology ◽

10.1099/jmm.0.001331 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Beatrice Achan ◽

Benon B. Asiimwe ◽

Moses L. Joloba ◽

Mourad Gumusboga ◽

Willy Ssengooba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Gold Standard ◽

Rifampicin Resistance ◽

Middle Income ◽

Predictive Values ◽

Technical Performance ◽

Resistant Tuberculosis ◽

Treatment Centre ◽

Lowenstein Jensen ◽

Proportion Method

Introduction. Drug resistant tuberculosis remains a worldwide problem that requires prompt diagnosis. Hypothesis/Gap statement. The WHO recommended direct, rapid Xpert MTB/RIF is prohibitively costly, therefore, there is a need to validate a rapid, affordable DST for use in low- and middle-income settings. Aim. The technical performance and time to results of a simple, direct microscopy-based slide DST (SDST) assay for diagnosis of rifampicin-resistant TB was evaluated in Uganda. Methodology. Sputum samples from 122 smear-positive re-treatment TB patients presenting to the TB treatment centre at Uganda’s National Referral Hospital, Mulago, Kampala, Uganda were examined. The sputum samples were tested by the direct SDST which was compared to the indirect Lowenstein Jensen Proportion Method (LJDST) method as the gold standard. The time to results was defined as the time from DST setting to results interpretation. The results were further analysed for sensitivity and specificity as well as agreement between LJDST and SDST for rifampicin resistance determination. Results. A total of 117 smear positive sputum samples with valid results for both tests were compared. The median time to results for SDST was 14 days with an interquartile range (IQR) of 10–14 days compared to 60 days with IQR of 60–75 days for LJDST. The number for rifampicin resistance by the gold standard LJDST was 26. The SDST had a sensitivity of 96 % (95 %; CI 81–99 %) and a specificity of 97.8 % (95 %; CI 93–100 %). The Positive Predictive and Negative Predictive values for SDST were 92.3 % (95 %; CI 76.8–99 %) and 98.9 % (95 %; CI 94–100 %), respectively. The kappa agreement between SDST and LJDST was 92.3 %. Conclusion. The SDST was found to be a rapid and accurate direct test for the detection of rifampicin resistance among retreatment TB cases in low-income settings.

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Waste management, informal recycling, environmental pollution and public health

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2016-208597 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 72 (3) ◽

pp. 237-243 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Hong Yang ◽

Mingguo Ma ◽

Julian R Thompson ◽

Roger J Flower

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Waste Management ◽

Environmental Pollution ◽

Latin American ◽

Informal Sector ◽

Low Income ◽

Waste Treatment ◽

Waste Recycling ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries

With rapid population growth, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, the generation of waste is increasing at an unprecedented rate. For example, annual global waste arising from waste electrical and electronic equipment alone will have increased from 33.8 to 49.8 million tonnes between 2010 and 2018. Despite incineration and other waste treatment techniques, landfill still dominates waste disposal in low-income and middle-income countries. There is usually insufficient funding for adequate waste management in these countries and uptake of more advanced waste treatment technologies is poor. Without proper management, many landfills represent serious hazards as typified by the landslide in Shenzhen, China on 20 December 2015. In addition to formal waste recycling systems, approximately 15million people around the world are involved in informal waste recycling, mainly for plastics, metals, glass and paper. This review examines emerging public health challenges, in particular within low-income and middle-income countries, associated with the informal sector. While informal recyclers contribute to waste recycling and reuse, the relatively primitive techniques they employ, combined with improper management of secondary pollutants, exacerbate environmental pollution of air, soil and water. Even worse, insufficient occupational health measures expose informal waste workers to a range of pollutants, injuries, respiratory and dermatological problems, infections and other serious health issues that contribute to low life expectancy. Integration of the informal sector with its formal counterparts could improve waste management while addressing these serious health and livelihood issues. Progress in this direction has already been made notably in several Latin American countries where integrating the informal and formal sectors has had a positive influence on both waste management and poverty alleviation.

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