…As Informal Waste Sector Employs 12.9 Million Women

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning that the growing amount of e-waste is endangering the health of millions of children .

This is because 12.9 million women work in the informal garbage sector, where they may be exposed to toxic e-waste, endangering themselves and their unborn children.

To safeguard children from a growing health concern, the first WHO report on e-waste and child health advocates for more effective and binding action.

Meanwhile, more than 18 million children and adolescents, some as young as five years old, work in the informal industrial sector, which includes trash processing.
Because children’s hands are more dexterous than adults’, they are frequently involved in e-waste recycling by their parents or caretakers. Other children live, attend to school, and play near e-waste recycling centers, where they are exposed to high quantities of harmful substances, primarily lead and mercury, which can harm their cognitive ability. Because of their smaller size, less developed organs, and quick rate of growth and development, children exposed to e-waste are particularly vulnerable to the hazardous compounds it contains. They take in more pollutants relative to their size and are less able to metabolize or eradicate toxic substances from their bodies.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that effective and binding action is urgently needed to protect the millions of children, adolescents, and expectant mothers whose health is jeopardized by the informal processing of discarded electrical or electronic devices around the world.

Children and Digital Dumpsites, according to a new groundbreaking report from the World Health Organization.

“With rising volumes of manufacturing and disposal, the globe is facing a rising “tsunami of e-waste,” putting lives and health at risk,” according to one recent international meeting.

“In the same way the world has rallied to protect the seas and their ecosystems from plastic and microplastic pollution, we need to rally to protect our most valuable resource –the health of our children – from the growing threat of e-waste.”

Impact of e-waste on human health
Workers, aiming to recover valuable materials such as copper and gold, are at risk of exposure to over 1,000 harmful substances, including lead, mercury, nickel, brominated flame retardants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

For an expectant mother, exposure to toxic e-waste can affect the health and development of her unborn child for the rest of its life. Potential adverse health effects include negative birth outcomes, such as stillbirth and premature births, as well as low birth weight and length. Exposure to lead from e-waste recycling activities has been associated with significantly reduced neonatal behavioural neurological assessment scores, increased rates of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavioural problems, changes in child temperament, sensory integration difficulties, and reduced cognitive and language scores.

Other adverse child health impacts linked to e-waste include changes in lung function, respiratory and respiratory effects, DNA damage, impaired thyroid function and increased risk of some chronic diseases later in life, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Similarly, Marie-Noel Brune Drisse, the Lead WHO Author on the report said, “A child who eats just one chicken egg from Agbogbloshie, a waste site in Ghana, will absorb 220 times the European Food Safety Authority daily limit for intake of chlorinated dioxins.”

“Improper e-waste management is the cause. This is a rising issue that many countries do not recognize yet as a health problem. If they do not act now, its impacts will have a devastating health effect on children and lay a heavy burden on the health sector in the years to come.”

A rapidly escalating problem
E-waste volumes are surging globally. According to the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership (GESP), they grew by 21% in the five years up to 2019, when 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste were generated. For perspective, last year’s e-waste weighed as much as 350 cruise ships placed end to end to form a line 125km long. This growth is projected to continue as the use of computers, mobile phones and other electronics continues to expand, alongside their rapid obsolescence.

Only 17.4% of e-waste produced in 2019 reached formal management or recycling facilities, according to the most recent GESP estimates, the rest was illegally dumped, overwhelmingly in low- or middle-income countries, where it is recycled by informal workers.

Appropriate collection and recycling of e-waste is key to protect the environment and reduce climate emissions. In 2019, the GESP found that the 17.4% of e-waste that was collected and appropriately recycled prevented as much as 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents from being released into the environment.

Children and Digital Dumpsites calls for effective and binding action by exporters, importers and governments to ensure environmentally sound disposal of e-waste and the health and safety of workers, their families and communities; to monitor e-waste exposure and health outcomes; to facilitate better reuse of materials; and to encourage the manufacture of more durable electronic and electrical equipment.

It also calls on the health community to take action to reduce the adverse health effects from e-waste, by building health sector capacity to diagnose, monitor and prevent toxic exposure among children and women, raising awareness of the potential co-benefits of more responsible recycling, working with affected communities and advocating for better data and health research on the health risks faced by informal e-waste workers.

Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, at the WHO said, “Children and adolescents have the right to grow and learn in a healthy environment, and exposure to electrical and electronic waste and its many toxic components unquestionably impacts that right”

While adding that, “the health sector can play a role by providing leadership and advocacy, conducting research, influencing policy-makers, engaging communities, and reaching out to other sectors to demand that health concerns be made central to e-waste policies.”

Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director/CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), has stated that the Federal government will reopen COVID-19 vaccination for the first dose on June 15, 2021.

Anyone over the age of 18 who has not been vaccinated should go to the nearest vaccination center for the first dosage of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to Shuaib.

Saying that their second dose will be due in 12 weeks for such people, and by then, we would have received the next shipment of vaccines.

He revealed this at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday to update Nigerians on the COVID-19 Vaccination exercise, stating, “Since then, we’ve been bombarded with requests from Nigerians to be vaccinated.”

He asked all Nigerians who received their first dosage at least six weeks ago to visit their nearest vaccination station to receive their second dose, which would provide full protection against COVID-19, on or before June 25th, when the second dosage will be discontinued.

Remember that the first dosage of immunization was officially closed on May 24, 2021.

According to him ; “Our dedicated teams continue to make strides in the vaccine rollout, working hand in hand with the local communities all across Nigeria. As of today, we have administered 1,978,808 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 680,345 second doses. 

 
” I will once again remind those listening that we are advising that all Nigerians who have received their first dose to check their vaccination cards for the date of their first dose and ensure that they receive the second dose between 6 – 12 weeks after their 1st dose to gain full protection against COVID-19. Please note that in some cases the location of your second dose may be different from your first dose, so please be sure to confirm this.

 
We now have information that Nigeria will get 3.92m doses of Oxford/Astrazeneca by end of July or early August. As we receive additional information on the exact dates in August, we will provide an update regarding timelines and details of this.

 
“Recent research from Public Health England (PHE) shows that the Indian (Delta) variant B.1.617.2 is 92% susceptible to Oxford/Astrazeneca. It is therefore comforting to know that the vaccine used in Nigeria can protect against this variant that caused high morbidity and mortality in India. However, it underscores the need for us to ramp up our vaccination to more Nigerians.

“We have held town hall meetings in North Central and NorthEast zones across our country. While efforts to ensure supply of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria are ongoing, the Presidential Steering Committee this week will be having our planned South-South Zonal Town Hall Meeting with stakeholders and the larger communities on COVID-19 vaccination in Benin, Edo State.

“We are fully committed to going to communities to discuss directly our vaccine effort, the importance of staying safe and protected against COVID-19 and answering questions people have. We have been really grateful for the high levels of participation and interest in these events. We are confident that through continued awareness raising, we will be able to keep communities safe and healthy”, he said.

He continued; “As you all are aware, hesitancy towards the second dose is very tied to the continued misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccination program globally and locally. This is especially prevalent on social media. While I commend the patriotism of a multitude of our social media influencers, I must say that I profoundly appreciate the contributions our professional media community has been making towards the progress of COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Nigeria.

“Nevertheless, the challenge is upon us to go beyond straight news and do more in educating Nigerians through interpretative stories, promotional exclusives, features and special broadcast programs on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination. It is important to emphasize the need to be fully protected with the second dose, and the socio-economic and health risks of refusing to be vaccinated.

 
“We will not be tired of calling upon you, the media, as we are confident that you will not relent in bringing to bear on COVID-19, the sheer patriotism and professional prowess you demonstrated in our collective and successful fight against polio in Nigeria. Again, our goal is to do everything possible to educate, combat misinformation, and engender confidence in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and to ensure all Nigerians have clear information on how, where, and when to get the vaccine.
 

“While we are working with our international partners to confirm the next shipment of vaccines to Nigeria, I wish to speak about the G7 summit that occurred over the weekend. The topic of global inequities in the vaccine supply was a significant focus of the G7 meeting. Rightfully so. Leaders of major, rich countries are becoming increasingly aligned with the thinking that the inequities cannot continue – not only because it is a moral failure but because it is strategically unwise for their own efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic.  On the final day of the summit, leaders committed to delivering at least 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to the world over the next year. While this will not close the enormous gap that exists today, it is a positive step and we welcome the new focus.”

Shauib also said that, President Biden announced on the eve of the summit that the US will purchase 500 million doses of the Pfizer-bioNTech vaccine and donate them to low- and middle-income countries through the next year. This pledge is by far the largest yet by one country. These doses will be distributed via Covax. We welcome this announcement and encourage other nations with the means to follow the US’ example so that we, as a global community, can move forward from COVID-19 swiftly.

In other positive news, the Mastercard Foundation has pledged to donate $1.3 billion for vaccines in Africa over the next three years in partnership with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is one of the largest corporate donations of the pandemic, globally. The goals of this cooperation are to strengthen the Africa CDC’s capacity, support local vaccine manufacturing, procure vaccines for at least 50 million people, and help deliver shots to millions more. We applaud Mastercard’s decision, and hope it will serve as an impetus for other corporations to follow with similar efforts.

Finally, I want to ensure that everyone is aware that there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases in several African countries recently. All Nigerians must continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Wearing a face covering over your nose and mouth in public spaces can save lives. A curfew remains in place from midnight until 4am every day. Indoor gatherings must be limited to 50 people, and are only permitted if all attendees abide by social distancing and wear face masks. And the government has introduced restrictions on incoming travel from high-risk countries and quarantine requirements to keep Nigerians safe. With a virus like COVID-19, we each must do our part to keep our communities safe.

The Japanese government stated on Monday that it will offer UNICEF with around US$39 million in emergency funds to help construct vaccine cold chains in Nigeria and 31 other African and Latin American countries affected by COVID-19.

The Government of Japan’s funding complements the work of the COVAX Facility, an international vaccine procurement mechanism dedicated to ensuring that people in all countries have equitable and timely access to vaccines.

UNICEF will use these funding to cooperate with the government to supply cold chain equipment in priority storage sites based on gap analysis, improving vaccine storage capacity and facilitating vaccine potency monitoring.

This has a significant impact on the country’s overall goal of preventing COVID-19 by vaccination, as well as the entire immunization program for child survival.

In each of the six states chosen, a walk-in freezer room will be erected. Solar vaccine refrigerators will be built in 175 wards where vaccine storage capacity is lacking. Temperature monitoring devices will be placed at 18 state cold storage facilities, with technical help provided to set up and maintain the equipment and devices.These supplies will ensure that the vaccines are of high quality.

Rushnan Murtaza, Officer in Charge, Representative, UNICEF Nigeria said, “We welcome the generous support of the Government and the people of Japan to Nigeria, as we continue to grapple with the impact of COVID-19. These funds will allow us to more effectively implement the strategy to ensure as many Nigerians as possible receive COVID-19 vaccinations, ensuring timeliness and efficacy of the vaccines, so that we can work towards a better future for all. UNICEF will continue to work with the Government of Nigeria, Government of Japan and other partners to support the COVID-19 response and to deliver positive outcomes for child survival and promote equitable access to vaccines for all.”

UNICEF has played a central role in supporting the procurement, transportation, and storage of COVID-19 vaccines to Nigeria and other countries, taking advantage of its long-standing vaccine procurement, storage, and transportation experience, as well as its existing immunization infrastructure.