The Impact of poor waste management on community health: insights from Glen Norah suburbs, Zimbabwe
- Author
- Ngarivhume, Vincent T.
- Title
- The Impact of poor waste management on community health: insights from Glen Norah suburbs, Zimbabwe
- Abstract
- Poor waste management creates a significant threat to public health mainly in the high density urban areas where urbanization is outpacing service delivery. There is notable under representation of community perspective and limited empirical data, despite the visible degradation of the environment together with frequent disease outbreaks. The study analyses the reasons behind and the impacts of poor waste management in Glen Norah, evaluating the existing policies and also exploring sustainable strategies for improvement. Through the use of a mixed method approach, the study combines local health data together with qualitative insights from health workers, residents and municipal officials. The results highlighted that irregular waste collection, inadequate infrastructure low public awareness and weak policy enforcement acts as the main contributors to poor waste management. These factors created increased cases of respiratory infections, cholera, and diarrhea particularly among the vulnerable groups. The policy review highlighted that while frameworks for waste management exist, their implementation is mostly hampered by inadequate resources and minimal community involvement. Residents expressed a very strong willingness to participate in these localized waste solutions if adequately supported. The study provided recommendations like enhancement of public health education, investments in community based waste programs, improvement of infrastructure and the effective enforcement of regulations. By addressing both the institutional shortcomings and integrating local knowledge, the findings presents practical implications for urban planners, policy makers and public health practitioners. This research contributes to filling crucial data gaps and supports the design of inclusive, data based interventions that improves waste management and mitigate health risks in Glen Norah and some similar urban communities.
- Date
- June 2025
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- Community Health
- Poor Waste Management
- Supervisor
- Dr. Mukwenyi
- Item sets
- Department of Sustainable Development
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