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Single-use plastic waste have become ubiquitous in the natural environment globally. In Ghana, the drinking water sector has become heavily dependent on packaged water in the form of sachet and bottled water. This has resulted in increased generation of single-use plastic waste littered in the natural environment. Waste sachets, though still major a challenge, have received some attention over the years in terms of identifying solutions for sustainable management. On the other hand, limited studies have focused on waste plastic bottles in terms of their generation, disposal and options for sustainable management. This study sought to explore the socio-demographic and attitudinal drivers of bottled water consumption in Ayawaso West Municipal Area located in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The results showed that increasing income levels, perceptions of hygiene and safety as well as convenience were the main factors driving the patronage of bottled water. Bottled water consumption is expected to continue to rise in coming years in response to rising income levels. Residents showed willingness to engage in waste segregation of their plastics however limited waste collection systems are available to support this. It is important to prioritize the waste plastic bottles in the waste management agenda and offer households waste collection options that will make segregation of waste worthwhile and sustainable.

Many children under five years still die from diarrhoeal diseases globally even though much progress has been made. The threat to public health posed by diarrhoeal diseases warrants the need to understand the interaction of the disease determinants from a spatio-temporal perspective to inform policy and intervention design. In this study, a pooled regression analysis was carried out using the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data on 15,808 children under five years, to assess the combined effect of environmental factors on childhood diarrhoea prevalence and morbidity over a 21-year period. Childhood diarrhoea prevalence declined steadily from 20% to 16% from 1993 to 2003 but increased to 20% in 2008 and finally decreased significantly to 12% in 2014. The strength of the association between diarrhoea prevalence and each of the predictors presented in decreasing order of magnitude were as follows: current age of child, geographical region, religion, mother's highest educational level, ethnicity, source of drinking water and toilet facility, residential wellbeing, birth order, age of mother, and sex of child. Regional and temporal heterogeneities in prevalence, rate and distribution of diarrhoea were observed, indicating the need for context-specific interventions and policies.

Anthropogenic activities threaten surface water quality across the globe, especially in contexts where monitoring is non-existent or weak. Our understanding of the effect, order and magnitude of natural and human-induced environmental factors on surface water quality is limited. This study assessed the effect, predictive order and magnitude of natural and human-induced environmental variables on surface water quality in the Birim North District of Ghana. Approximately 540 samples were collected from 15 rivers and streams in 2018 and analysed using 31 indicators. Landsat satellite images (2018 and 2019) of the study area were analysed for land use land cover data. The data were fitted to ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model. Season (50%) most accounted for variability in the surface water quality whereas elevation and forest cover accounted for 28% and 21%, respectively. Surface water quality in the Akoase and Nyafoman/Noyem clusters were 30% and 10% respectively better in quality than the Adofokrom/Amenam cluster. The increasing order of magnitude of variables in predicting surface water quality was Buffer, Cultivated area, Built-up, Forest, Rivers and streams cluster, Elevation, and Season. Consequently, management interventions for surface water ecosystems should account for spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the factors that influence surface water quality.

In the era of global environmental change, land transformation is acknowledged as a critical subject that needs to be addressed. Even though some studies have been carried out in Ghana on land use and land cover (LULC) change of wetlands, the conventional methods used were unable to reveal the underlying processes associated with the land transformation. This study employed Intensity Analysis to assess LULC change pattern (1985–2017) in three coastal urban wetlands of international importance in Ghana in order to identify the fundamental processes driving the wetland landscape transformation. Wetlands considered for this study were the Densu Delta, Sakumo II and Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Sites. The observed overall annual change in the first time interval; 2.42% (Densu Delta), 1.47% (Sakumo II) and 2.65% (Muni-Pomadze) was smaller compared to that of the second time interval 2.60% (Densu Delta), 3.55% (Sakumo II) and 2.91% (Muni-Pomadze). The human-induced LULC categories continuously grew at the expense of natural LULC categories. Large transitions from natural LULC categories to built-up were observed in all the three wetlands and in addition, large transition of dense forest to cultivated land was recorded at the Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site. The main underlying process associated with land transformation in the wetlands was urbanization. Besides, agricultural activities also contributed substantially to LULC changes at the Muni-Pomadze wetland.

Access to clean cooking fuels is critical for human health and features, prominently in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, our understanding of the probabilities of access to c...

Climate change and intense anthropogenic activities have heightened the vulnerability of coastal areas globally. The intensification in the dynamism and uncertainty of coastal processes and change in the past few decades have led researchers and coastal managers to explore new tools with the capability of undertaking a rapid assessment of coastal resources at a relatively lower cost compared with the conventional in situ data collection. The latest advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms and sensor technologies have made them useful environmental remote sensing tools due to the high temporal and spatial resolution and relatively inexpensive operating costs. This study reviews literature that explored UAV applications in five different areas of the coastal zone comprising the intertidal, coastal organisms and habitats, marine litter, coastal zone disaster management, and coastal zone land use and land cover mapping. The review provides evidence of the potentials and effectiveness of UAVs for coastal zone management (CZM). However, factors such as difficulty in imaging water, setting out ground control points (GCPs) for geolocation of images, and processing large volumes of data can pose a challenge to coastal managers. Extensive review shows the capabilities of current UAV technologies for monitoring and tracking changes in the coastal environment at high spatial and temporal resolution.

Carbon sequestration is associated with plant biomass and soils. The amount of carbon sequestration in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve (ARFR) is affected by varied anthropogenic activities like logging, mining and farming. This study estimate the above and below ground carbon stock and assess human-induced stress impacts on the Highly Stressed Vegetation (HSV), Moderately Stressed Vegetation (MSV), and Non-Stressed Vegetation (NSV) in the ARFR. The above ground biomass of trees was determined using the allometric model of (Henry, et al., 2010) whereas plants root biomass was calculated using Cairns et al. (1997). Soil organic carbon was determined using the Walkley–Black method. We observed that carbon stock was higher in the above-ground than the below-ground component. The MSV, recorded the highest stock of carbon followed by the NSV and the HSV whilst sequestrated carbon stocks was generally high and varied across the three stress levels. Within the forest, the intensity of anthropogenic activities has negatively impacted the amounts of carbon sequestrated at various levels.

Climate change and intense anthropogenic activities have heightened the vulnerability of coastal areas globally. The intensification in the dynamism and uncertainty of coastal processes and change in the past few decades have led researchers and coastal managers to explore new tools with the capability of undertaking a rapid assessment of coastal resources at a relatively lower cost compared with the conventional in situ data collection. The latest advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms and sensor technologies have made them useful environmental remote sensing tools due to the high temporal and spatial resolution and relatively inexpensive operating costs. This study reviews literature that explored UAV applications in five different areas of the coastal zone comprising the intertidal, coastal organisms and habitats, marine litter, coastal zone disaster management, and coastal zone land use and land cover mapping. The review provides evidence of the potentials and effectiveness of UAVs for coastal zone management (CZM). However, factors such as difficulty in imaging water, setting out ground control points (GCPs) for geolocation of images, and processing large volumes of data can pose a challenge to coastal managers. Extensive review shows the capabilities of current UAV technologies for monitoring and tracking changes in the coastal environment at high spatial and temporal resolution.

COVID-19 is an active pandemic that likely poses an existential threat to humanity. Frequent handwashing, social distancing, and partial or total lockdowns are among the suite of measures prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and being implemented across the world to contain the pandemic. However, existing inequalities in access to certain basic necessities of life (water, sanitation facility, and food storage) create layered vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and can render the preventive measures ineffective or simply counterproductive. We hypothesized that individuals in households without any of the named basic necessities of life are more likely to violate the preventive (especially lockdown) measures and thereby increase the risk of infection or aid the spread of COVID-19. Based on nationally-representative data for 25 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, multivariate statistical and geospatial analyses were used to investigate whether, and to what extent, household family structure is associated with in-house access to basic needs which, in turn, could reflect on a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. The results indicate that approximately 46% of the sampled households in these countries (except South Africa) did not have in-house access to any of the three basic needs and about 8% had access to all the three basic needs. Five countries had less than 2% of their households with in-house access to all three basic needs. Ten countries had over 50% of their households with no in-house access to all the three basic needs. There is a social gradient in in-house access between the rich and the poor, urban and rural richest, male- and female-headed households, among others. We conclude that SSA governments would need to infuse innovative gender- and age-sensitive support services (such as water supply, portable sanitation) to augment the preventive measures prescribed by the WHO. Short-, medium- and long-term interventions within and across countries should necessarily address the upstream, midstream and downstream determinants of in-house access and the full spectrum of layers of inequalities including individual, interpersonal, institutional, and population levels., Highlights • About 46% of the sampled households in 24 sub-Saharan African countries did not have in-house access to basic necessities. • The most vulnerable are practically missing from policy responses to limit the spread of COVID-19. • Individuals in households without water, sanitation and food storage are more likely to violate lockdown regulations. • Pre-existing inequalities in access to water, sanitation and food preservation compound layered vulnerabilities to COVID-19. • Transdisciplinary research and multi-sectoral policy responses are required to address the societal impacts of COVID-19.

Background and aims Understanding the importance of using personal protective equipment (PPE) and the influence of work‐post (working distance to main dust source—crusher) in stone quarries is vital for designing tailored interventions in minimizing workers' exposure to silica dust. Nonetheless, studies on silica dust and disease symptoms in Ghana are nascent. This study assessed how work‐post and use of required PPE jointly influence exposure to silica dust and disease symptoms in Ghana. Methods Generalized linear models (complementary log‐log regression) were fitted to cross‐sectional survey data of 524 stone quarry workers in Ghana to assess the joint effect of work‐post and PPE usage on self‐reported disease symptoms while controlling for relevant compositional and contextual factors. Results Stone quarry workers who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 90% and 87% respectively less likely to report eye irritation compared with their counterparts who work between 1 and 100 m from the crusher without the required PPE. Individuals who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 94% and 95% respectively less likely to report breathing difficulty compared with the reference group. Workers who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 97% and 99% respectively less likely to report coughing compared with the reference group. Workers who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 93% and 97% respectively less likely to report common cold compared with their counterparts who work between 1 and 100 m from the crusher without the required PPE. Conclusion There are adverse health implications for people who work in silica dust polluted environments, suggesting the need for a national safety and health policy to target them.

The novel coronavirus is predicted to have dire implications on global food systems including fisheries value chains due to restrictions imposed on human movements in many countries. In Ghana, food production, both agriculture and fisheries, is exempted from restrictions as an essential service. The enforcement of COVID-19 prevention protocols, particularly social distancing, has been widely reported in Ghana’s agricultural markets whereas casual observations and media reports on fish landing sites suggest no such enforcements are in place. This study aimed to provide sound scientific evidence as a basis for informed policy direction and intervention for the artisanal fishing sector in these challenging times. We employed an unmanned aerial vehicle in assessing the risk of artisanal fishers to the pandemic using physical distancing as a proxy. From analysis of cumulative distribution function (G-function) of the nearest-neighbour distances, this study underscored crowding at all surveyed fish landing beaches, and identified potential “hotspots” for disease transmission. Aerial measurements taken at times of peak landing beach activity indicated that the highest proportion of people, representing 56%, 48%, 39% and 78% in Elmina, Winneba, Apam and Mumford respectively, were located at distances of less than one metre from their nearest neighbour. Risk of crowding was independent of the population at the landing beaches, suggesting that all categories of fish landing sites along the coast would require equal urgency and measured attention towards preventing and mitigating the spread of the disease.

A comprehensive assessment of ecosystem health of wetlands is needed to guide protection and restoration activities. However, the conventional methods used in evaluating ecosystem health of wetlands largely rely on field observational data which often do not provide spatio-temporal perspectives to the assessment. Geospatial assessment of remotely sensed data has enormous potentials for assessing ecosystem health of wetlands at different temporal and spatial scales. This study employed geospatial techniques to assess ecosystem health of Densu Delta, Sakumo II and Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Sites over a 32-year period using structure, function and resilience indicators. Landsat satellite images of 1985, 2002 and 2017 were obtained for this study. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to weight the indicators. The importance of the ecosystem health indicators in decreasing order was as follows: Structure > Resilience > Function. The findings of the study also indicated that ecosystem health of the wetlands progressively deteriorated in 2002 and 2017 compared to the reference year of 1985. In 2002, the Densu Delta experienced the least decline (11.8%) from the 1985 state among the three wetlands and Sakumo II recorded the highest deterioration (38.0%). Unlike 2002, in 2017 the health of the Densu Delta experienced the worse deterioration (46.3%) whereas Sakumo II recorded the least decline (26.2%). Ecosystem health of Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site deteriorated at a similar magnitude, 27.0% and 29.1% in 2002 and 2017, respectively. The critical underlying factor for the degradation of the wetlands is urbanization largely due to increase in human population which led to the expansion of built-up areas in the wetlands, fragmentation of natural land use and land cover (LULC) classes and reduction of vegetation cover.

Patronage of bottled water in Ghana has increased over the years as a more hygienic source of drinking water. This shift has however resulted in increased generation of waste bottles without any formal regulated management system to handle them sustainably. This has encouraged an informal system which involves the retrieval and reuse of the bottles by market women and small scale local beverage producers for the sale of products such as palm oil, mashed kenkey and hibiscus tea (“sobolo”). The reuse of these bottles for food products for public consumption without any regulated means of sanitizing them is an issue of public health concern. This study therefore sought to determine the level of microbial contamination in used bottles sold in the three major markets (Makola, Kaneshie and Madina) in the capital city of Ghana, Accra to ascertain their safety for use for food products. The results showed presence of Total Coliforms and Faecal Coliforms in more than 60.0% and 40.0% of the bottles respectively. The bottles washed by the vendors recorded higher presence of Total Coliforms (65.3%) and Faecal Coliforms (57.3%) than the unwashed ones (49.3%) and (36.0%) respectively. This could be attributed to poor water quality used in washing the bottles, cross contamination from washing equipment, poor washing technique/procedure and improper storage. The continued reuse of bottles for food products therefore presents a serious public health problem. There is the urgent need for strict enforcement of food safety regulations in Ghana to ensure that packaging materials used by food vendors as well as the mode of treating these materials meet standards that safeguard public health.

The realization of the scale, magnitude, and complexity of the water and sanitation problem at the global level has compelled international agencies and national governments to increase their resolve to face the challenge. There is extensive evidence on the independent effects of urbanicity (rural-urban environment) and wealth status on access to water and sanitation services in sub-Saharan Africa. However, our understanding of the joint effect of urbanicity and wealth on access to water and sanitation services across spatio-temporal scales is nascent. In this study, a pooled regression analysis of the compositional and contextual factors that systematically vary with access to water and sanitation services over a 25-year time period in fifteen countries across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was carried out. On the whole, substantial improvements have been made in providing access to improved water sources in SSA from 1990 to 2015 unlike access to sanitation facilities over the same period. Households were 28.2 percent and 125.2 percent more likely to have access to improved water sources in 2000–2005 and 2010–2015 respectively, than in 1990–1995. Urban rich households were 329 percent more likely to have access to improved water sources compared with the urban poor. Although access to improved sanitation facilities increased from 69 percent in 1990–1995 and 74 percent in 2000–2005 it declined significantly to 53 percent in 2010–2015. Urban rich households were 227 percent more likely to have access to improved sanitation facilities compared with urban poor households. These results were mediated and attenuated by biosocial, socio-cultural and contextual factors and underscore the fact that the challenge of access to water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa is not merely scientific and technical but interwoven with environment, culture, economics and human behaviour necessitating the need for interdisciplinary research and policy interventions.