Research & reports

Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.

3 results

• The Health Burden of E-Waste: The Impact of E-Waste Dumping Sites on Child Mortality

  2024

  Stefania Lovo, Samantha Rawlings · The World Bank Economic Review · Ghana, Nigeria

  This study investigated the impact of e-waste dumping sites on neonatal and infant mortality, focusing on two major dumpsites in Ghana and Nigeria. Using a difference-in-differences approach, outcomes were compared for children born near and far from dumpsites before and after their creation. E-waste sites increased neonatal and and infant mortality for those living closer to the sites, with event studies suggesting effects emerge two to three years after site openings. There is suggestive evidence that contamination of water and of urban farming produce are among the drivers of the observed effects.

  Contamination & food safetyHealthEconomics
  Read source →DOI: 10.1093/wber/lhae053

• Wastewater governance in the upstream catchment of the Awash Basin, Ethiopia: challenges and opportunities for better accountability

  2023

  Yosef Abebe, Mulugeta Gashaw, Asenake Kefale, Tim Brewer · Water Reuse · Ethiopia

  A study on wastewater governance in the upstream catchment of the Awash Basin, Ethiopia, found that untreated wastewater discharged from industries is polluting rivers and the surrounding environment. Regulatory bodies have done little to enforce rules and directives for wastewater regulation, and due to poor implementation of laws, urban agriculture is expanding without concern for its negative health and socioeconomic impacts.

  Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyEconomicsClimate change
  Read source →DOI: 10.2166/wrd.2023.077

• Overview on urban and peri-urban agriculture: definition, impact on human health, constraints and policy issues

  2008

  Erastus K. Kang’ethe, Delia Grace, Thomas F. Randolph · East African Medical Journal · East Africa

  This study synthesizes current knowledge on urban agriculture (UA) in East Africa, focusing on its human health impact. It identifies UA as an important source of food security, but notes that many zoonotic and food-borne diseases are associated with it, with a lack of evidence on human health impact and management. Major constraints include illegality and limited access to inputs and markets, indicating a need for more research to understand both positive and negative health impacts.

  Contamination & food safetyHealthFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsPeri-urban agriculture
  Read source →DOI: 10.4314/eamj.v84i11.9576