Suchergebnisse

Extreme temperatures due to global warming are impacting negatively on the general population in many regions of the world, yet heat-related illnesses remain largely overlooked. Heat-related morbidity and mortality is predicted to increase because of climate change. Environmental heat is emerging as a key public health is­sue, particularly amongst poor and vulnerable sectors of society in developing countries. This study assessed the exposure of outdoor street vendors in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to extreme heat whilst work­ing between seven-and thirteen-hour shifts per day and mostly in direct sunlight during summer months. This group of workers is par­ticularly vulnerable to heat-related and other health problems as they are deemed to be illegal traders and operate without the support of a legislative framework to monitor their health and wellbeing. With the current political upheaval in Zimbabwe there is an urgent need for government to develop heat prevention policies, heat prevention guidance measures and extensive programs for outdoor workers to increase their knowledge and awareness of the issue. It is also nec­essary to develop adaptation and coping mechanisms amongst this vulnerable sector of society, while also exploring other preventive measures that could reduce heat exposure more broadly.

Ghana's healthcare expenditure has increased over the past two decades. Increased healthcare expenditures are required to enhance the acquisition of better hospital resources that may improve healthcare. This study presents an overview of healthcare expenditures and health outcomes (i.e. infant mortality, under-5 mortality and life expectancy) from 1995 to 2014 in Ghana. Infant and under-5 mortalities have declined by 50 and 25%, respectively, as of 2014, while life expectancy has increased from 60.7 to 64.8 years. Private spending on health, especially out-of-pocket payments, declined but is higher than the World Health Organization's recommended financial threshold. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rising with healthcare costs leading to catastrophically high healthcare expenditures in the future. While government's investments on healthcare have yielded positive results, the improvement in the health outcomes cannot be attributed to increased health expenditure alone. Therefore, this paper outlines policies on maternal health, national health insurance and healthcare reforms that have influenced health outcomes. In parallel, the paper highlights challenges of the Ghana health system of which the major ones are (1) inadequate financial investments in health and (2) limited health workforce and facilities. These challenges can be ameliorated by (1) establishing new health institutions and expanding existed ones; (2) providing incentives to discourage the exodus of health workers; (3) introduction of the concept of predictive, preventive and personalized medicine (PPPM) for treating NCDs; and (4) alternative insurance schemes for vulnerable groups. This, coupled with the will of the government to curb misappropriation of funds, will be important to achieving better health outcomes.

Ghana's healthcare expenditure has increased over the past two decades. Increased healthcare expenditures are required to enhance the acquisition of better hospital resources that may improve healthcare. This study presents an overview of healthcare expenditures and health outcomes (i.e. infant mortality, under-5 mortality and life expectancy) from 1995 to 2014 in Ghana. Infant and under-5 mortalities have declined by 50 and 25%, respectively, as of 2014, while life expectancy has increased from 60.7 to 64.8 years. Private spending on health, especially out-of-pocket payments, declined but is higher than the World Health Organization's recommended financial threshold. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rising with healthcare costs leading to catastrophically high healthcare expenditures in the future. While government's investments on healthcare have yielded positive results, the improvement in the health outcomes cannot be attributed to increased health expenditure alone. Therefore, this paper outlines policies on maternal health, national health insurance and healthcare reforms that have influenced health outcomes. In parallel, the paper highlights challenges of the Ghana health system of which the major ones are (1) inadequate financial investments in health and (2) limited health workforce and facilities. These challenges can be ameliorated by (1) establishing new health institutions and expanding existed ones; (2) providing incentives to discourage the exodus of health workers; (3) introduction of the concept of predictive, preventive and personalized medicine (PPPM) for treating NCDs; and (4) alternative insurance schemes for vulnerable groups. This, coupled with the will of the government to curb misappropriation of funds, will be important to achieving better health outcomes.

Smallholder farming has become a significant livelihood coping strategy of the population in Ghana. However, in the last decade the upsurge of climate change and the effect of heat stress vulnerability on smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana are alarming. This article investigates the chances of using social protection and climate change adaptation policies towards the management of risks associated with heat stress emanating from climate change. It reviews salient literature on heat stress, social protection, and climate change policies and develops a model upon which both domestic and international interest in climate and social protection policies of Ghana and Sub-Sahara Africa can reduce or aggravate heat stress impacts on smallholder farmers both at their working environment and at household level. It exemplifies the efficacy of the strength of social protection and climate change adaptation policies in Ghana and its impacts on vulnerable rural smallholder farmers and how such situation is replicated in many parts of Africa. It outlines further measures that can be undertaken by governments and international donor agencies to revamp the destitution of smallholder farmers to climate change and heat stress in African region.

Record-breaking summer heat events are increasing in frequency in Zimbabwe and 2016 was a particularly hot year with the country experiencing its worst heat wave event in decades. Currently, Zimbabwe has no coordinated public health response to deal with heat wave events and no specific data on heat-related morbidity and mortality. The country has no legislation for protecting workers against environmental heat exposure, particularly those most vulnerable who are employed in the informal sector. These workers are also at risk due to their outdoor work environments. The article outlines the state of climate and heat stresses in Zimbabwe, as benchmarked against other African countries and France. It further summarizes outdoor workers' susceptibility to heat exposure and the need for the Zimbabwean Government to develop policies to ensure the health and safety of an increasing population of outdoor workers in Zimbabwe.