Browsing by Author "Wahaj, Zujaja"
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- Assessment of biomedical waste handling in GhanaPublication . Debrah, Justice Kofi; Wahaj, Zujaja; Sadaf, Lubaba; Dinis, Maria Alzira PimentaThis article reports a study in Greater Accra and Eastern Region, to assess knowledge and practices related to biomedical waste (BMW) handling and disposal in six health care facilities (HF) in Ghana. The results showed a significant knowledge gap in handling expired blood units, human tissue, and liquid BMW. Of the respondents, 87.0% revealed inadequate procedural knowledge in disposing of liquid BMW, with only 19.6% inspecting it; and 82.2% of the respondents demonstrated insufficient knowledge of handling expired blood units. Intensive training in handling of BMW is required to produce adequate understanding of procedural guidelines.
- BR-174 highway, geotourism and socio-environmental conflicts in the northern remote regions of the AmazonPublication . Veras, Ana Sibelonia Saldanha; Vidal, Diogo Guedes; Wahaj, Zujaja; Ahmed, Waqas; Barros, Nelson; Dinis, Maria Alzira PimentaBR-174 in Brazil, also known as Manaus–Boa Vista, is a longitudinal highway that connects the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Amazonas and Roraima to Venezuela, being the only terrestrial connection between Roraima and the rest of Brazil. Its construction took place in 1968 and its inauguration in 1977, aiming to promote the interconnection of the State of Roraima, as a geopolitical strategy, with the rest of the country and, later, with South America. The construction of the BR-174 crossed the Waimiri Atroaris indigenous land, resulting in serious socio-environmental conflicts in the 1970s. Furthermore, recent research indicates that the deforestation process in the Amazon is associated with the opening of roads, as it favours the migratory flow, the occupation of land and logging. In this context, the arrival of migrants and, consequently, the pressing need to settle newly arrived people in search of land, favoured the damming of watercourses, the reduction of wild fauna and deforestation as a result of the construction of the road and neighbouring areas. However, and currently, BR-174 translates into a strategy of progress and communication, uniting adjacent communities, on the one hand, and, on the other, allowing the use of biophysical resources in favour of the development of geotourism. Considering this reality and from the perspective of the social and environmental transformations that have occurred, the objective of this paper is to analyse the potential of the BR-174 for the development of geotourism, as a way of mitigating its socio-environmental impacts and connecting geographically remote regions. The qualitative nature approach is based on the treatment and analysis of available bibliographic and documental sources. As the only land connection in the State of Roraima, and in addition to the negative impacts on the socio-environmental profile of the region, it can be concluded that the BR-174 highway has the potential to be an element facilitating the promotion of geotourism in the remote region of Amazon, contributing to the socio-environmental safeguard of this region.
- Ensuring sustainability in internationalisation efforts at higher education institutionsPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Viera Trevisan, Laís; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Sivapalan, Subarna; Wahaj, Zujaja; Liakh, OlenaPurpose – Higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world are engaged in internationalisation efforts. Yet internationalisation per se is associated with significant pressures on the environment and environmental resources, which need to be addressed. Therefore, this study assessed the opportunities, benefits, and challenges associated with the internationalisation of universities at a global level. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 27 relevant case studies were extracted from the literature to illustrate how HEIs worldwide are ensuring sustainability in their internationalisation efforts. Findings – Through case studies of international HEIs, the study lists the opportunities, benefits, and challenges associated with the internationalisation of universities at a global level and some of the measures that may be deployed to reduce the environmental impacts of their international activities. Originality/value - This study provides a welcome contribution to the literature since it outlines some of the works taking place at universities, where matters related to sustainable development are considered against a background of internationalisation efforts.
- Industrial waste management in Ghana: environmental challenges and climate change impacts on human healthPublication . Debrah, Justice Kofi; Teye, Godfred Kwesi; Wahaj, Zujaja; Dinis, Maria Alzira PimentaWaste having a significant and relevant material presence in our everyday life was not considered worthy of human attention up until the 1990s. Most probably, this delayed recognition of waste is due to the fact that it has been mistakenly understood as something that is supposed to remain invisible to the human eye in a sense that it is assumed to be occupying those spaces that are not inhabited by human beings. Contemporary times, however, are marked by giving due importance to waste. It is seen as a crucial environmental and health challenge for species’ survival on earth and is therefore placed center stage in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim to protect the planet. More recently, SDG 12, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, has alerted to fast-growing waste management (WM) environmental issues. With the earth being viewed as a limited natural resource and having the inadequate capacity to accommodate wastes leading to adverse environmental and health consequences, caution must be taken to understand the associations between global consumption, total waste, and wasting patterns. Conceptualizing waste as a globally circulating material, particularly in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and sulphur oxide (SOx), the governance of waste has become a global concern. This chapter focuses on WM in Ghana, a middle-income economy country in the West of Africa. Due to rapid industrialization, Ghana is witnessing an ever-escalation of the country’s contribution to global environmental waste issues, especially GHG emissions. This study aims to identify and address the challenges associated with managing waste in Ghana. Additionally, it proposes specific measures to mitigate climate change and its effects on the environment and human health resulting from WM. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 101 responses received from WM experts based on the aim. The data were analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 27. 72% of respondents were male, with most completing first and second degrees and have been working between 11 and 15 years. Although most of the respondents’ report waste being poorly managed, 93% consider that the associated causes of improper WM include inadequate infrastructure, lack of landfills, lack of tools and logistics, and equipment. All respondents believed that the challenges affect climate change through the emission of GHGs and particulate matter, resulting in global warming and impacting human health.
- South Asian coalesced realities: SDG 3 and SDG 6 during COVID-19 pandemicPublication . Khattak, Amna Jan; Wahaj, Zujaja; Dinis, Maria Alzira PimentaOwing to global trade and travel, the recent novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has surpassed all geographical barriers and encompassed the entire world, impacting everyone in all spheres of life. Yet, it is evident that not every person was equally affected. In order to overcome this challenging ordeal, the World Health Organization (WHO) initially recommended washing hands with soap and maintaining hygiene as a first approach to fight against COVID-19. However, this seemingly simple instruction exposed inequalities that exist in terms of economic wealth, access to resources, urban-rural divide, and gender. The aim of this chapter is to establish how COVID-19 has made the achievement of sustainable development goal (SDG) 6, i.e., water and sanitation, of perhaps greater importance than ever before as the eradication of COVID-19 and achievement of SDG 6 are knotted. Focusing on the specific reality of the South Asian context, it is intended to analyze the social, economic, and other inequalities exacerbated by the COVID-19 and obstacles that these inequalities have brought to highlight in achieving SDG 6 and the intertwined SDG 3, i.e., health and population, in face of the current pandemic situation the world is currently experiencing.