Conceptual frameworks regarding waterborne diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and the need of for a new approach to urban exposomes

Abstract

Sub-Saharan African countries, like many other low-income countries, experience urban socio-economic inequalities due to rapid and unplanned urbanization. As a result, there is the creation of poor urban areas lacking basic sanitation, water and hygiene facilities, and subjacent public health issues such as the spread of waterborne diseases. The demarcation of disease transmission areas already exists, but is less appropriate in sub-Saharan Africa, making the need to divide these urban areas more adequately. In addition, the construction of frameworks tools more specific to waterborne diseases issues is essential.We propose a restructuring of sub-Saharan urban areas into more specific areas of exposure to waterborne diseases and associated exposomes. Then we use this restructuring of urban areas of exposure to waterborne diseases in a conceptual framework taken account causes of exposure, impact and interventions.The division of the urban area into public, domestic and indivudual exposure areas eases the understanding of the dynamics of waterborne exposomes. Moreover, the inclusion of this division in the DPSEEA( Driver-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action) framework allows a effective stratified implementation of urban public health policies.

SDG 6 progress analyses in sub-Saharan Africa from 2015–2020: the need for urgent action

“…For this reason, along with poverty and lack of financial inclusion to develop sanitation and hygiene facilities in SSA region, there are only slight improvements in the proportion of the population accessing safely managed sanitation and handwashing facilities in their homes [45]. With inadequate sanitation and hygiene https://doi.org/10.1007/s43832-024-00099-5 facilities compounded by limited access to safe drinking water, the transmission and prevalence of public health concerns and communicable diseases is growing in the region [15].…”

Conceptualization of the Transmission Dynamic of Faecal-Orally Transmitted Diseases in Urban Exposome of Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Public area referring to the domain under the control of the street, infrastructure, commerce, the domestic for the domain under the control of the household and the individual referring to the domain under the control of the individual. 5 , 6 …”

“…This exposure in these areas varies over time, hence the concept of urban exposome as a continuum of exposomes of public, domestic and individual connected by external or internal domains. 6 , 7 …”

“…This exposure in these areas varies over time, hence the concept of urban exposome as a continuum of exposomes of public, domestic and individual connected by external or internal domains. 6,7 To better illustrate the urban exposome of FOD, a three-coordinate plane with exposure, space and time as coordinate axes is designed as in Figure 2.…”

“…However, this diagram does not take into account the different domains of disease transmission (public, domestic and individual) discovered after. 5 , 6 …”