The Health Impact and External Cost of Electricity Production

The use of fossil fuels, which still dominate global primary energy consumption, results not only in emissions of greenhouse gas but also in emissions of pollutants such as SO2, NOx, and PM. Damage caused by air pollution can be expressed in monetary terms in the form of external costs to society. The goal of this paper is to answer the following questions: How much will the energy sector’s emissions change as a result of decarbonization? What is the estimated level of external costs related to human health in future energy scenarios? How large are the estimated external costs compared to the planned investments in this sector? The study conducted for the period 2018–2050 used the impact pathway approach and covered the centralized power and heat generation sector in Poland. The reported values of the concentration–response functions that relate human exposure to air pollution with health impact were reviewed. The results show that external costs decrease from an estimated annual level in the range of EUR 782–1911 million in 2018 to EUR 36–876 million in 2050. The cumulative value of avoided external costs between 2018 and 2050 is significantly lower than the planned capital expenditures in the energy sector in Poland.

Development of a Kriging Assessment Framework and Impact Pathway for Researching Contamination With Potentially Toxic Elements in Urban Landfill Soil

Landfill post-closure with contaminant concentration in soil below permissible limit assessed at limited spot does not represent the contamination issue. Assessment limit to professionals also does not gives a potential of change to practice constant assessment to a wider context of assessor - citizen living nearby - as a collaborative effort to sustain a safe environment. Therefore sizeable, qualitative, and cost-effective analysis of the concentrations of contaminants is needed and this work recommends kriging assessment and the logical impact pathway framework as factors of change in landfill aftercare management. The kriging framework is developed utilising lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) data from inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. The development of the kriging framework is conducted based on the observation of censored data from ICP-MS analysis. The estimation analysis involves the analysis of ordinary kriging with regression analysis, showing the interpolation of spatial correlation and regression error. Hence, ordinary kriging with regression of the variable of interest, i.e., Pb, using the data of the explanatory variable, i.e., Cr, is inappropriate. Further investigation with the utilisation of guess-field kriging analysis hypothetically exposed a potential contaminated area using an existing but limited number of explanatory variables; although, guess-field kriging may possibly result immense uncertainty at the area where the explanatory variable does not exist. Besides, this work anticipated outcomes in societal impact and sustainability practices from the proposed kriging framework by recommending a logical impact pathway. The development of the kriging framework and impact pathway reassure the necessary actions to be executed by responsible parties and act as the stimulus of a wider spectrum of improvement initiatives to oversee real issues, such as the time of occurrence, and to prevent negative impacts on the environment and humans.

Coherence for Nutrition: Insights From Nutrition-Relevant Policies and Programs in Burkina Faso and Nigeria

ABSTRACT There is consensus that policy coherence is necessary for implementing effective and sustainable approaches to tackle malnutrition. We look at whether policies and programmes provide a coherent pathway to address nutrition priorities and if programmes are designed to deliver interventions aligned to the nutrition policy agenda in Nigeria and Burkina Faso. A systematic desk review was performed on nutrition-relevant policy and programme documents, obtained through grey literature searches and expert recommendations. We developed a framework with an impact pathway structure that includes five process steps, which was used to guide coding, data reduction and synthesis and structure the analysis. We assessed internal coherence along process steps within a given document and external coherence across process steps for explicitly linked policy/programme pairs. The majority of policies and programmes had partial internal coherence for both countries. The identification of relevant nutrition interventions to address challenges and reach objectives was the strongest connection within policies (16 out of 45 had complete coherence) while among programmes the strongest connection was coverage indicators that measure interventions (9 out of 21 had complete coherence). Eight programmes explicitly referenced at least one nutrition-relevant policy with a total of 16 linked policy/programme pairs (13 pairs for Burkina Faso and 3 for Nigeria) across health, nutrition, agriculture, and social focus areas. However, none of the linked pairs were assessed to have complete external coherence suggesting that priorities at policy level are not fully realised nor translated at programme level. This study offers a new approach for assessment of policy and program coherence and specifically examines policy and program linkages. We conclude that improved leadership on country priority setting and better alignment for nutrition within and across sectors is needed to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition investments.

Spatially Disaggregated Impact Pathway Analysis of Direct Particulate Matter Emissions

This chapter focuses on the evaluation of air quality and health impacts associated with direct emissions of air pollutants for different REFLEX scenarios based on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework. Ambient concentration of air pollutants is calculated with the use of the Polyphemus Air Quality System. Health impacts are calculated using the concentration-response functions. Results show that particulate matter emissions in Europe will decrease by 10 times till 2050. Also ambient pollutants concentrations decrease in 2050 in all REFLEX scenarios. This leads to the reduction of external costs of almost 20 billion EUR per year.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF MICROFINANCE ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION

The objective of this paper is to investigate theoretical background of microfinance and poverty alleviation. The article consist the two types of theories, which related to microfinance. First types of theories addresses the specific issues the poor have to face when seeking access to formal financial resources, due to the lack of collateral and second types of theories. The second set of theories are based on the impact of microfinance on small businesses, households and individuals. The first category of theories consist Theory relating to Emergence of Microfinance, Concept of Joint Liability Group in Microfinance. Theories of impact pathway of microfinance consist Theory on Shortcomings of Development Finance Strategies, Market and Welfare Theories, Poverty Lending Approach, Financial System Approach and5 Financial Integrated Approach

Assessing the Coverage of Biofortified Foods: Development and Testing of Methods and Indicators in Musanze, Rwanda

ABSTRACT Background Biofortification of staple crops has the potential to increase nutrient intakes and improve health outcomes. Despite program data on the number of farming households reached with and growing biofortified crops, information on the coverage of biofortified foods in the general population is often lacking. Such information is needed to ascertain potential for impact and identify bottlenecks to parts of the impact pathway. Objectives We aimed to develop and test methods and indicators for assessing household coverage of biofortified foods. Methods To assess biofortification programs, 5 indicators of population-wide household coverage were developed, building on approaches previously used to assess large-scale food fortification programs. These were 1) consumption of the food; 2) awareness of the biofortified food; 3) availability of the biofortified food; 4) consumption of the biofortified food (ever); and 5) consumption of the biofortified food (current). To ensure that the indicators are applicable to different settings they were tested in a cross-sectional household-based cluster survey in rural and peri-urban areas in Musanze District, Rwanda where planting materials for iron-biofortified beans (IBs) and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSPs) were delivered. Results Among the 242 households surveyed, consumption of beans and sweet potatoes was 99.2% and 96.3%, respectively. Awareness of IBs or OFSPs was 65.7% and 48.8%, and availability was 23.6% and 10.7%, respectively. Overall, 15.3% and 10.7% of households reported ever consuming IBs and OFSPs, and 10.4% and 2.1% of households were currently consuming these foods, respectively. The major bottlenecks to coverage of biofortified foods were awareness and availability. Conclusions These methods and indicators fill a gap in the availability of tools to assess coverage of biofortified foods, and the results of the survey highlight their utility for identifying bottlenecks. Further testing is warranted to confirm the generalizability of the coverage indicators and inform their operationalization when deployed in different settings.

How to design a complex behaviour change intervention: experiences from a nutrition-sensitive agriculture trial in rural India

Many public health interventions aim to promote healthful behaviours, with varying degrees of success. With a lack of existing empirical evidence on the optimal number or combination of behaviours to promote to achieve a given health outcome, a key challenge in intervention design lies in deciding what behaviours to prioritise, and how best to promote them. We describe how key behaviours were selected and promoted within a multisectoral nutrition-sensitive agriculture intervention that aimed to address maternal and child undernutrition in rural India. First, we formulated a Theory of Change, which outlined our hypothesised impact pathways. To do this, we used the following inputs: existing conceptual frameworks, published empirical evidence, a feasibility study, formative research and the intervention team’s local knowledge. Then, we selected specific behaviours to address within each impact pathway, based on our formative research, behaviour change models, local knowledge and community feedback. As the intervention progressed, we mapped each of the behaviours against our impact pathways and the transtheoretical model of behaviour change, to monitor the balance of behaviours across pathways and along stages of behaviour change. By collectively agreeing on definitions of complex concepts and hypothesised impact pathways, implementing partners were able to communicate clearly between each other and with intervention participants. Our intervention was iteratively informed by continuous review, by monitoring implementation against targets and by integrating community feedback. Impact and process evaluations will reveal whether these approaches are effective for improving maternal and child nutrition, and what the effects are on each hypothesised impact pathway.

A Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Large-Scale Food Fortification Programs

Objectives The use of evidence on program performance and potential for impact for decision making in food fortification programs is limited and often done in isolation from other micronutrient interventions. We present a framework for fortification stakeholders responsible for making program recommendations and decisions to facilitate and document evidence-based decision making. Methods First, we reviewed the literature to define the key decision makers and decisions necessary for effective fortification program design and delivery, informed by a clear impact pathway. Then we classified decisions by domain, identified data sources and criteria for their assessment, and adapted the GRADE Evidence to Decision framework to summarize the results. Finally, we considered how the framework would apply to different country programs to test its utility. Results Policymakers, particularly government ministries, and the food producers themselves are the most important decision makers in a fortification program, while technical support agencies, donor agencies, and the research community play important roles in translating data and evidence into contextualized recommendations that meet the needs of different decision makers. The main fortification decision types were classified into five domains across the impact pathway: 1) program design (need, food vehicle(s)); 2) program delivery (compliance, quality, coverage); 3) program impact (nutrient intake and status); 4) overlapping micronutrient interventions and/or under-served populations; and 5) decisions to continue or stop programs. Important criteria for the assessment of each decision type included priority, benefits/risks, equity, acceptability, and feasibility among others. Country examples illustrated the importance of coordinating decision-making in the context of overlapping micronutrient interventions to ensure continued safety and impact over time. Conclusions This framework is a practical tool to enable evidence-based decision making by fortification stakeholders. Using evidence in a systematic and transparent way can enable more effective program design, delivery, and ultimately health impacts. Funding Sources Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.