Sustainable electricity for sustainable health? A case study in North-western Zambia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3051/2020/v31i4a8362Keywords:
renewable energy; sustainability; rural settings; non-communicable diseases, diabetes, well-being, communi-ty health, diet, clean energyAbstract
This study explores the under-researched link between clean energy and public health outcomes, and offers new insights into the link between wider access to clean energy and progress towards health outcomes, in particular the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. This is the first study to consider the impact of a run-of-river hydropower plant (RORHP) in a remote rural community in Zambia in relation to health outcomes. Exploring this relationship establishes how the health benefits which renewable energy can bring can be capitalised upon to meet the health-related objectives of the United Nations sustainable development goals. Workshops and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders including community members, health workers, business owners, and key people involved with the plant, to establish health and social impacts of the introduction of electricity in the community of Ikelenge. Findings are used to establish both synergies and trade-offs of the RORHP on the health of the community, and recommendations are made for the continued improvement of health following the introduction of the RORHP, to achieve further progress towards meeting SDG targets.
Downloads
References
Anyangwe, S. & Mtonga, C. 2007. Inequities in the Global Health Workforce: The Greatest Impediment to Health in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 4(2): 93–100. http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/4/2/93 17 January 2020.
Armitage, C.J. 2014. Evidence That Self-Incentives Increase Fruit Consumption: A Randomized Exploratory Trial
Among High-Risk Romanian Adolescents. Prevention Science, 15(2): 186–193. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11121-012-0346-6 17 January 2020.
Bangdiwala, S.I., Fonn, S., Okoye, O. & Tollman, S. 2010. Workforce Resources for Health in Developing Countries. Public Health Reviews, 32(1): 296–318. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391604.
Brand-Correa, L.I., Martin-Ortega, J. & Steinberger, J.K. 2018. Human Scale Energy Services: Untangling a ‘golden thread’. Energy Research and Social Science, 38(January): 178–187.
Breuer, E., De Silva, M.J., Fekadu, A., Luitel, N.P., Murhar, V., Nakku, J., Petersen, I. & Lund, C. 2014. Using Workshops to Develop Theories of Change in Five Low and Middle Income Countries: Lessons from the Programme for Improving Mental Health cCare (PRIME). International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 8: 15.
Caperon, L., Arjyal, A., K. C., P., Kuikel, J., Newell, J., Peters, R., Prestwich, A. & King, R. 2019. Developing a socio-ecological model of dietary behaviour for people living with diabetes or high blood glucose levels in urban Nepal: A qualitative investigation. PLOS ONE, 14(3): e0214142. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214142.
Caperon, L., Sykes-Muskett, B., Clancy, F., Newell, J., King, R. & Prestwich, A. 2018. How effective are interventions in improving dietary behaviour in low- and middle-income countries? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Psychology Review, 12(3): 312–331. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17437199.2018.1481763 5 July 2019.
Cappuccio, F.P., Kerry, S.M., Micah, F.B., Plange-Rhule, J. & Eastwood, J.B. 2006. A Community Programme to Reduce Salt Intake and Blood Pressure in Ghana. BMC Public Health, 6(1): 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-6-13.
Carr, A., Hewlett, S., Hughes, R., Mitchell, H., Ryan, S., Carr, M. & Kirwan, J. 2003. Rheumatology Outcomes: the Patient’s Perspective. The Journal of Rheumatology, 30(4): 880–883.
Chambers, R. 2012. Participatory Workshops: A Sourcebook of 21 Sets of Ideas and Activities. London: Earthscan.
City Population. 2010. Ikelenge (District, Zambia) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location. https://www.citypopulation.de/php/zambia-admin.php?adm2id=0802 14 January 2020.
Cote-Arsenault, D. & Morrison-Beedy, D. 2005. Maintaining Your Focus in Focus Groups: Avoiding Common Mistakes. Research in Nursing & Health, 28(2): 172–179.
Cullen, J.M. & Allwood, J.M. 2010. The efficient use of energy: Tracing the global flow of energy from fuel to service. Energy Policy, 38(1): 75–81.
Doyal, L. & Gough, I. 1991. A Theory of Human Need. London: The Macmillan Press.
Earley, K. 2014. Tech Can Prevent Huge Food Waste Problems in Developing Countries. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/18/technology-prevent-waste-food-developing-countries 6 April 2020.
Feilzer, M.Y. 2010. Doing Mixed Methods Research Pragmatically: Implications for the Rediscovery of Pragmatism as a Research Paradigm. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(1): 6–16. http://mmr.sagepub.com/content/4/1/6.abstract.
Freire, P. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.
Fuso Nerini, F., Tomei, J., To, L.S., Bisaga, I., Parikh, P., Black, M., Borrion, A., Spataru, C., Castán Broto, V.,
Anandarajah, G., Milligan, B. & Mulugetta, Y. 2018. Mapping synergies and trade-offs between energy and the Sustainable Development Goals. Nature Energy, 3(1): 10–15.
Green, J. & Thorogood, N. 2009. Qualitative Methods for Health Research. London: Sage.
Grubler, A., Johansson, T.B., Mundaca, L., Nakicenovic, N., Pachauri, S., Riahi, K., Rogner, H.-H. & Strupeit, L. 2012. Energy Primer. In Global Energy Assessment - Toward a Sustainable Future. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA and Laxenburg, Austria: Cambridge University Press and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis: 99–150.
Harvey, F. 2014. The Energy “TRilemma”: How Did We Get Here? The Guardian.
International Diabetes Federation. 2020. Diabetes in Zambia. IDF Africa Members,. https://idf.org/our-network/regions-members/africa/members/30-zambia.html 6 April 2020.
Jemmott, J.B., Jemmott, L.S., O’Leary, A., Ngwane, Z., Icard, L., Bellamy, S., Jones, S., Landis, J.R., Heeren, G.A., Tyler, J.C. & Makiwane, M.B. 2011. Cognitive-behavioural Health-promotion intervention Increases Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Physical Activity Among South African adolescents: A Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial. Psychology and Health, 26(2): 167–185.
Jung, J. & Huxham, M. 2019. Firewood Usage and Indoor Air Pollution from Traditional Cooking Fires in Gazi Bay, Kenya. Bioscience Horizons: The International Journal of Student Research, 11. https://doi.org/10.1093/biohorizons/hzy014.
Kalene Mission Hospital Online. 2017. Kalene Mission Hospital. https://web.archive.org/web/20171009193242/http:/www.kalenehospital.com/ 6 April 2020.
Kalusa, W.T. 2014. Missionaries, African Patients, and Negotiating Missionary Medicine at Kalene Hospital, Zambia, 1906-1935. Journal of Southern African Studies, 40(2): 283–294.
Kitzinger, J. 1995. Qualitative Research: Introducing focus groups. BMJ, 311(7000): 299 LP – 302. http://www.bmj.com/content/311/7000/299.abstract.
Ledwith, M. & Springett, J. 2010. Participatory Practice: Community-Based Action for Transformative Chang. Bristol: Policy Press.
Lehmann, U., Dieleman, M. & Martineau, T. 2008. Staffing Remote Rural Areas in Middle- and Low-income Countries: A Literature Review of Attraction and Retention. BMC Health Services Research, 8(1): 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-8-19.
Malama, B. 2014. Ikelenge Cries for Factory. Zambia Daily Mail Limited,. http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/ikelenge-cries-for-factory-roads/ 6 April 2020.
Malik, V.S., Popkin, B.M., Bray, G.A., Després, J.-P., Willett, W.C. & Hu, F.B. 2010. Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care, 33(11): 2477–2483. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/33/11/2477.abstract.
Max-Neef, M. a., Hopenhayn, M. & Hamrell, S. 1992. Human Scale Development: Conception, Application and Further Reflections, Volume 1. Apex Press. http://www.area-net.org/fileadmin/user_upload/papers/Max-neef_Human_Scale_development.pdf 6 April 2020.
Meegan, M.E., Conroy, R.M., Lengeny, S.O., Renhault, K. & Nyangole, J. 2001. Effect on Neonatal Tetanus Mortality After a Culturally-based Health Promotion Programme. Lancet, 358(9282): 640–641.
Te Morenga, L., Mallard, S. & Mann, J. 2013. Dietary Sugars and Body Weight: Systematic Review and Meta-analyses of Randomised Controlled Trials and Cohort Studies. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 346: e7492. http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e7492.abstract.
Mukanu, M.M., Zulu, J.M., Mweemba, C. & Mutale, W. 2017. Responding to Non-communicable Diseases in Zambia: a Policy Analysis. Health Research Policy and Systems, 15(1): 34. http://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12961-017-0195-7 15 January 2020.
Nayak, B.S. & Bhat, V.H. 2016. School Based Multicomponent Intervention for Obese Children in Udupi District, South India – A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Clinical and Diagnositic Research, 10(12): SC24.
Naz, S., Page, A. & Agho, K.E. 2017. Household Air Pollution from Use of Cooking Fuel and Under-five Mortality: The Role of Breastfeeding Status and Kitchen Location in Pakistan. PLOS ONE, 12(3): e0173256. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173256.
North West Zambia Development Trust. 2013. Zengamina Hydro Project. http://www.nwzdt.org/?page_id=22 14 January 2020.
Ojakaa, D., Olango, S. & Jarvis, J. 2014. Factors Affecting Motivation and Retention of Primary Health Care Workers in Three Disparate Regions in Kenya. Human Resources for Health, 12(1): 1–13.
Peša, I. 2014. Moving Along the Roadside: A Social History of Mwinilunga District, 1870s-1970s. Leiden University. https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/28744 14 January 2020.
Popkin, B.M., Adair, L.S. & Ng, S.W. 2012. Global Nutrition Transition and the Pandemic of Obesity in Developing Countries. Nutrition Reviews, 70(1): 3–21.
Roy, J., Tschakert, P., Waisman, H., Halim, S.A., Antwi-Agyei, P., Dasgupta, P., Hayward, B., Kanninen, M., Liverman, D., Okereke, C., Pinho, P.F., Riahi, K. & Suarez Rodriguez, A.G. 2018. Sustainable Development, Poverty Eradication and Reducing Inequalities. In V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P. R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J. B. R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M. I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, & T. Waterfield, eds. Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5°C Above Pre-industrial Levels and Related Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Pathways, in the Context of Strengthening the Global Response to the Threat of Climate Change,. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Pres: 445–538.
Skovdal, M. & Cornish, F. 2015. Qualitative Research for Development. A Guide for Practitioners. Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publishing.
Sustainable Energy for All. 2020. Zambia - SEforALL Africa Hub. https://www.se4all-africa.org/seforall-in-africa/country-data/zambia/ 14 January 2020.
Tausch, A.P. & Menold, N. 2016. Methodological Aspects of Focus Groups in Health Research: Results of Qualitative Interviews With Focus Group Moderators. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 3: 2333393616630466.
The Borgen Project. 2018. Cooling in Developing Countries. https://borgenproject.org/cooling-in-developing-countries/ 6 April 2020.
United Nations. 2019a. Goal 3: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg3 14 January 2020.
United Nations. 2019b. Goal 7: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg7 14 January 2020.
World Health Organisation. 2015. Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020. World Health Organization.
World Health Organisation. 2018a. Household Air Pollution and Health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health 17 January 2020.
World Health Organisation. 2010. Increasing Access to Health Workers in Remote and Rural Areas Through Improved Retention: Global Policy Recommendations. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/44369.
World Health Organisation. 2019. Reducing Free Sugars Intake in Adults to Reduce the Risk of Noncommunicable Diseases. World Health Organization. https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e7492?view=long&pmid=23321486 16 January 2020.
World Health Organisation. 2018b. Zambia Non Communicable Disease Profile. https://www.who.int/nmh/countries/zmb_en.pdf 15 January 2020.
Wurie, H.R., Samai, M. & Witter, S. 2016. Retention of Health Workers in Rural Sierra Leone: Findings from Life Histories. Human Resources for Health, 14(1): 1–15.
Zambia Statistics Agency. 2015. Zambian LCMS 2015 Household Survey. Zambia Statistics Agency Online. https://www.zamstats.gov.zm/ 6 April 2020.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Lizzie Caperon, Lina Brand-Correa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}