Africa and environmental health trends

Abstract

Environmental health issues are of major concern in the world today, especially in developing countries. Across Africa, environmental resources remain central to rural people’s livelihoods and health. The rich environmental resources of the continent significantly impact population health. During the past decades, many African countries have initiated sustainable natural resources management approaches to ensure environmental health. For example, there has been a shift from the predominantly centralized natural resource management approach to models including joint forest management, community-based natural resources management, collaborative forest management, and participatory forest management. Although some gains have been achieved, fundamental challenges remain to be redressed. The frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases such as malaria and the Ebola pandemic symbolize the complexity of environmental and human health challenges on the continent. The formulation and effective implementation of appropriate environmental health policies and programmes, including broad and in-depth stakeholder consultations will significantly help to address these challenges.