Vulnerability to flood-induced public health risks in Sudan

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyze flood vulnerability vis-à-vis flood-induced health risks, and understand the relationship between them to suggest measures to reduce health risks in Sudan. Design/methodology/approach -This study compares the vulnerability to flood and health consequences in two communities in Aroma. This study compares the vulnerability of Aroma semi-urban vicinity and Tendellei rural village, in Sudan, to flood and health consequences. A set of socioeconomic and health indicators were studied in 251 households. Households were classified according to their calculated vulnerability composite index. The index was validated through comparing the vulnerability values with the level of impact in each household. Findings -About 30 percent of households are highly/very highly vulnerable to flood risk. On the other hand, 41 percent of the rural households and 25 percent of the semi-urban houses are highly/very highly vulnerable to health risks. The main determinants of flood vulnerability are; the number of earning family members, level of education and economic activity of the household's head. The rural households are found to be more vulnerable to health risks while semi-urban households are more vulnerable to flooding. Flood and health vulnerabilities are positively correlated. Factors like urbanization, poverty and education directly affect the vulnerability of communities.Research limitations/implications -The methodology could be strengthened through the running of multi-various regression to relate selected vulnerability indicators to incidence of malaria and diarrhea in each household. Practical implications -The method described in this paper is flexible; applicable and can be reproduced for other areas and risks. Social implications -Vulnerability determinants affect the two communities differently and this necessitates specific consideration when developing policy. The policy should tackle the root causes of vulnerability to cut the vicious circle of poverty, illiteracy and illness. Those root causes should be managed by integrating multi-hazard approaches for effective and efficient interventions. Originality/value -The method described in this paper is original, flexible; applicable and can be reproduced for other areas and risks.

A Conceptual Framework to Understand the Dynamics of Rural–Urban Linkages for Rural Flood Vulnerability

“…Damages to the basic village health centers and education facilities also increase the susceptibility of rural households in Bangladesh [119]. Distance to emergency facilities, health centers, and metaled roads are important physical features that influence the susceptibility to flood in Sudan [126], Pakistan [127], and India [120]. Hence, availability and quality of infrastructure modify both flows and vulnerability.…”

Climate Change–Related Water Disasters’ Impact on Population Health

“…Males are more susceptible to drowning (the largest cause of mortality from cyclones), and males are most susceptible to dying from cyclones (Doocy, Dick, Daniels, & Kirsch, 2013). Other factors that were associated with susceptibility include being female, being very young or elderly, living with a disability, being an ethnic minorities, lacking fluency in the country's primary language, having a female head of household, and having lower educational attainment (Abbas & Routray, 2014;Alderman et al, 2012;Bloetscher et al, 2016;Burton et al, 2016;Grabich et al, 2016;Khan et al, 2014;Lane et al, 2013;Rodriguez-Llanes et al, 2016;Schmeltz et al, 2013;Srikuta et al, 2015). Children are more susceptible to injuries, diarrheal diseases, and respiratory infections (Phung et al, 2014).…”

“…Flooding causes rapid loss of life from physical damage of the disaster but also interrupts food supply and life support, leading to chronic community malnutrition (Su, 2011). Communities that lack health infrastructure or health facilities have poorer health outcomes due to the interruption in transportation that is associated with flooding or other water-related disasters-people cannot get health care during communication or power disruptions (Abbas & Routray, 2014). Food security is related to increased population growth rates, deficiency of drinking water, degradation of soil, urbanization, and animal-based diets, all of which are influenced by climate change (Ahmed et al, 2016).…”

Assessing the Capacity to Govern Flood Risk in Cities and the Role of Contextual Factors

“…For example, Rahmasary et al [68] found that insufficient solid waste collection and treatment led to sewer clogging and urban flooding in Bandung, Indonesia. Such urban flooding also poses the risk of malaria outbreaks and substantial traffic congestion [69]. Moreover, ground subsidence as a consequence of groundwater over-abstraction aggravates urban flooding.…”