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Abstract
Environmental degradation is causing serious health threats to the population worldwide.
This condition is becoming worse in the developing countries. Keeping in view various
environmental health problems of Pakistan, the main objective of this research article is
to analyze the spatial distribution of environmental risk factors in Bahawal...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... commercial centers, busy roadsides and residential locations were selected to gauge actual level of pollution. The results indicate that AQI levels are quite high in Bahawalpur city consequently showing unhealthy air for population of the city (table 1). At present, Bahawalpur is the fastest growing among the cities of the Punjab and ranks as twelfth biggest city of Pakistan. ...
Context 2
... It is obvious that drinking water treatment practice is very alarming in all the tehsils of district Bahawalpur, making this region vulnerable to gastrointestinal diseases, while bacterial contamination has been found at medium to low levels in this area which can be attributed to the dominance of arid climatic conditions also (table 10). ...
Context 3
... are found among all the tehsils in terms of unimproved excreta disposal. With regard to this environmental health risk indicator Ahmadpur East is the high risk area, Bahawalpur Sadder, Hasilpur and Khairpur Tamewali are moderate risk areas, while Yazman and Bahawalpur City are low and very low risk areas respectively (table 10). Cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, polio, cryptosporidiosis, ascariasis and schistosomiasis etc. are the substantial resultant health threats to the population of these areas. ...
Context 4
... Correspondingly, solid waste disposal and sewage disposal intensity has been found to be very high in all the tehsils with the exception of Bahawalpur City where it is low as it is an urban area and waste disposal is carried out efficiently by Tehsil Municipal Authority (table 10). The mal-disposal of solid waste and sewage can cause outbreaks of vector borne diseases along with the blood- spattered diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever, etc. ...
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Citations
... The land usage pattern indicates rapid urbanization reduced forest cover by 89.3 %, and urban land enhanced its domain by 45.5 % from 2003 to 2018, Ahmad in 2021. These changes have also led to environmental degradation and health problems mainly due to inadequate and poor sanitary conditions, inadequate waste disposal systems, and contaminated water in poor urban areas, especially slums (Khan et al., 2014;Noor et al., 2014). Residents in slum areas are prone to contracting illnesses such as typhoid fever, diarrhea, and malaria because most of them live in poorly constructed houses, and they are ignorant of sound environmental practices (Noor et al., 2014). ...
... Residents in slum areas are prone to contracting illnesses such as typhoid fever, diarrhea, and malaria because most of them live in poorly constructed houses, and they are ignorant of sound environmental practices (Noor et al., 2014). Exploring these challenges involves enhancing proper environmental management and people's involvement, transforming environmental degraders into activists (Khan et al., 2014;Noor et al., 2014). ...
... In addition, lack of education awareness and pollution of the environment perpetuate this culture of exclusion. Whereas environmental degradation, including water crisis and deforestation, has a more negative impact on low-income communities, eunuchs being part of such communities, according to Khan et al. (2014) and Noor et al. (2014). According to the study, most respondents did not even know some environmental issues, distancing them from sustainable practices. ...
This study seeks to identify the environmental issues that impede learning opportunities for the transgender community in South Punjab, Pakistan, which exacerbate their lack of access to education. Despite the growing legal acceptance of transgender individuals, several pressing social issues persist, including widespread environmental problems such as water pollution and deforestation. This study utilized a mixed-methods methodology that included both quantitative and qualitative data. According to the survey, nearly all transgender individuals (96%) lacked social protection and a stable income source, and 92% believed that environmental education could have a positive impact on their lives. Individuals with lower educational backgrounds participated in inclusive policies, yet their equality remained restricted. These findings suggest that targeted initiatives addressing environmental concerns and social integration via education are required. Suggestions include promoting collaboration with non-governmental organizations, peer-led education initiatives, government-led projects, and economic empowerment to improve marginalized communities.
... Indoor air pollution, such as smoking and burning solid fuel, is a risk factor for TB (Blount et al., 2021). It is estimated that almost 87% of households in the study area use solid fuels such as wood, coal, and other materials for heating and cooking, and only 8.4% of households have access to natural gas, a clean fuel (GOP, 2018;Khan et al., 2014). Similarly, 32% of households use mud as their building material, demonstrating the region's low socioeconomic status (Nawab et al., 2022). ...
Pakistan is among the top countries with the highest tuberculosis (TB) burden in the world. This study aims to identify and visualize spatiotem-poral clusters of TB cases in South Punjab Province Pakistan during 2016-2020. We obtained TB data from the national surveillance of the District Health Information System from January 2016 to Decem-ber 2020. We applied space-time scan statistics using the Discrete Poisson model to identify and investigate spatiotemporal patterns of TB at the tehsil level, which is a subunit of districts, in the study area. The region consistently experienced many new tuberculosis cases with Multan as the highest reporting division. A purely temporal clustering pattern was observed from December 2017 to February 2020 with a relative risk (RR) of 1.21 (P < 0.001). However , purely spatial scanning identified two significant high-risk (P < 0.001) clusters of TB within the South Punjab region comprising 36.5% and 6.8% of total cases, respectively. The first spatial cluster was located in the central part of the region (RR = 1.69), while the second cluster was observed in the northern area (RR = 1.46). Interestingly, the most significant spatial-temporal cluster (RR = 1.80) was also identified in the central part of the region, comprising 26.8% of the total TB cases, with the temporal accumulation of cases from October 2017 to March 2020. Our study revealed significant space-time clusters at the tehsil level, based on which public health interventions and strategies can be tailored to address the specific needs of these regions, potentially leading to more effective TB prevention and control measures.
... Unsafe water was cited as the most threatening risk (n=311; 85.9%), while noise pollution was cited as the least concerning environmental risk (n=134; 37.0 percent). Khan et al.(2014) investigated the spatial distribution of environmental risk factors in Bahawalpur district, Punjab, Pakistan. The Punjab Bureau of Statistics compiled the most recent report of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2007)(2008) of the Bahawalpur district. ...
... Shahid and Hussain (2015) investigated the air pollution and related issues in Faisalabad. Khan et al. (2014) investigated the spatial distribution of environmental risk factors in Bahawalpur district. Anwar et al. (2012) based the study on major pollutants from various sources and their effects on human health in Bahawalpur. ...
The menace of pollution has cast innumerable detrimental effects on both the natural environment and human health by causing diseases and mortality. The objective of this study was to elucidate the impact of air pollution on human health. To attain this objective, a convenient sample of 196 respondents was recruited from Multan City, Punjab, Pakistan. The data were collected by using selfreported questionnaire, containing socio-economic and demographic information, causes and impacts of air pollution on human health of the respondents followed by recommendations. The respondents believed that there exists moderate air pollution in the city of Multan. The major causes of air pollution counted by the sample included traffic, waste burning, and open sewage. A significant mean difference was found between males and females about the impact of air pollution on human health. Females were found more sensitive in terms of behavioral effects of air pollution as compare to their male counterparts. The most common health issue found in the study area was asthma (23.5%) followed by sore throat (22.4%), and allergy (19.4%). It was also concluded that air pollution is a serious issue in Multan. The sample suggested the spread of greenery and public parks all around the city and ban on the mobility of vehicles emitting high pollution.
... The degradation of all environmental components (air, water, and land) is frighteningly escalating and continues to be a serious concern in Pakistan due to growing industrial and agricultural operations, energy demands, urbanization, traffic density, and population expansion (Khwaja et al. 2012). These degraded environmental problems cause serious health issues in Pakistan (Khan et al. 2014). ...
Human health is harmed by air pollution. The objective of this research was to show that air pollution in Pakistan is getting worse and is negatively impacting people's health. IQ Air and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation provided the data for this descriptive research. Monthly data of PM 2.5 μg/m³ from ten different localities across Pakistan are used to show spatial distribution through the geospatial technique of interpolation. The findings show that two third of the country has high PM 2.5 concentration, with Lahore as the most polluted city. In Pakistan, solid fuel use has decreased, leading to a decline in associated mortality and morbidity. However, there have been significant increases in PM 2.5 and ozone levels, resulting in a rise in the country's overall health burden caused by air pollution. Furthermore, the number of deaths attributed to air pollution has also increased since 1990. A total of 57% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 40% of lower respiratory infections, 36% of ischemic stroke, 35% of ischemic heart diseases, 32% of lung cancer, 25% of diabetes, and 20% of neonatal outcomes are directly attributed to air pollution in Pakistan. The main contributors to air pollution are population growth, growing motorization, and unsustainable energy usage. The main challenges due to air pollution control and monitoring in Pakistan include a lack of awareness, poor policy creation and implementation, the use of improper fuel, rising energy demands, and an absence of pollution monitoring stations in most cities. Therefore, there is a need for a robust air pollution monitoring system, increased public awareness, and the implementation of clean and sustainable policies to regulate this environmental health issue.
... The inefficient handling and poor disposal of solid waste (SW) causes severe threats to public health and environment [1][2][3][4]. In general, in developing countries, a large percentage of SW is either destroyed by fire, collected by waste pickers or dumped on free land in many cities and even major metropolitan areas, creating serious environmental degradation and menacing human health [5][6][7]. ...
Composting is considered as a promising method to reduce solid-waste and promote urban agriculture and horticulture. In this study, potential use of compost obtained from roadside soils and municipal solid waste as source of fertilizer for crop production was evaluated. Eight combinations i.e., control, Mineral Fertilizer (MF), Farm Manure (FM), Compost (C), Poultry Manure (PM), MF + FM, MF + C and PM + C were applied in completely randomized design experiment with three repeats using maize (Zea mays L. var. D.919) as a test crop. Complementary application of compost with MF was significantly highly effective than other applications with respect to measured yield attributes indicating composting of municipal solid waste as an ecologically and economically beneficial strategy. The application of maize growing in roadside soils reduced the amount of lead in the soils supporting positive effect in remediation of heavy metals.
... Poor quality of water, improvised sanitation, air pollution, and poor system of solid waste management have disastrous effects on human health. Among all the factors, contaminated water is the most threatening to human lives (Khan, Fatima, & Khan, 2014). Only 3% of the total volume of water is available for human drinking. ...
... This population trend projects the population in 2024 approximately 810,276 (The Urban Unit, 2014). Bahawalpur has become Pakistan's 12 th largest city due to current trends of urbanization, which aggravated the state of basic civic services even more (Ali Khan, Fatima, & Khan, 2014). The water table of the city ranges from 5.5 to 10 meters. ...
Safe Drinking Water is a fundamental human requirement, which necessitates efficient management for better service delivery. Safe water governance remains hardly understood in Pakistan, even though water-related issues are widespread in the country. Pakistan is a federal state with a three-tier government i.e. national, provincial, and district. Constitutionally, the provision of safe drinking water to all citizens is a provincial responsibility. This research is an analysis of the decentralized water services in Bahawalpur Metropolitan by focusing on the nature of consecutive local governments during 2000-21. The paper examines decentralized initiatives, institutional design, and implementation strategies in the water sector. The study uses primary data from a survey involving 300 respondents and records of water-related institutions. Secondary evidence from published sources has also been utilized. Findings of the research point to the importance of decentralization particularly in stakeholder participation on water issues, power, and responsibilities in the water sector.
... Numerous studies in various parts of the world, hitherto, have been carried out regarding the accessibility, management and drinking suitability of the water. However, in case of Pakistan only a handful studies, concerning basically to the extent and appropriateness of the water resources have been accomplished up till now (such as Adamou et al., 2020;Khan et al., 2020;Zulfiqar, Abbas, Raza & Ali, 2016;Hussain et al., 2016;Shahid et al., 2015;Safdar, Mohsin & Khan, 2014;Khan, Fatima & Khan, 2014;Mohsin, Safdar, Asghar & Jamal, 2013;Memon, Soomro, Akhtar & Memon, 2011). In 2006, groundwater quality was appraised by PCRWR in 25 cities of Pakistan including Vehari, where due the dominance of arid climate water needs are comparatively high. ...
... The analysis out comes help to comprehend the water associated health risks that local dwellers are facing. In such areas, several health issues including typhoid, hepatitis, gastritis, diarrhea, dysentery, and abdominal cramps have been recorded to spread primarily due to drinking polluted water (Khan, Fatima & Khan, 2014). Therefore, the health of drinking water needs to be examined consistently and properly at suitable intervals of time. ...
Water is one of the most basic and life sustaining requirement of the humans. Accessibility to safe drinking water is essential for the people's health and welfare. But in Vehari which is one of the significant agrarian districts of the South Punjab and where major part of population is inhabited in villages, clean drinking water is not available everywhere. For drinking and for other different domestic uses, almost whole residents of this district depend on pumped aquifer water. Because of increasing population pressure, spreading human accomplishments and rising consumption, the underneath water-table is going down and concentration of impurities in it is on the rise. The availability of clean drinking water for rural population is turning to be a big issue. Because of the unavailability of clean or treated water, the inhabitants are forced to use contaminated groundwater obtained through water pumps. This may cause numerous health issues. For that reason, the drinking quality evaluation of groundwater is necessary that can be useful for future planning. This study was carried out with the objective to make a purposeful evaluation of the quality of groundwater used for drinking by the rural inhabitants and to fix out the most problematic contaminants carried in it. The study was conducted in six villages, choosing two villages from each of the three tehsils of Vehari district. The water samples were collected from each of the six villages which were handled by the skilled technicians and analysed in the labs of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Bahawalpur. The findings were matched with the WHO values fixed for safe drinking water. The results demonstrate that aquifer water of all the studied villages is unhealthy for household uses and for drinking as majority of the assessed factors deviated from the standards set by WHO. The study concludes that consumption of groundwater without any sort of treatment is unsafe and to keep pace with the government's health related policies, installation of water filtration plants in all rural areas is direly needed.
... a Quantile distribution of ARI incidence. b Spatial interpolation (IDW) of ARI incidence in Bahawalpur district diseases is the increased presence of outdoor air pollutants resulting from more intense energy consumption and exhaust emissions from cars and other vehicles Similarly according to the environmental health research, Air Quality Index values were found to be high in urban centres of Bahawalpur district, whereas indoor air quality (as calculated by the percentage of household using biofuel) found to be high throughout the district except Bahawalpur City [38]. Thus, the spatial and seasonal distribution of ARI can possibly be related with the climatic, environmental and socio-economic conditions risk factors such as temperature, rainfall, air pollution generated from industries and traffic, smoking, indoor air quality, high room density, poor ventilated houses, and low immunity etc. ...
Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) is a main health issue of Pakistan. This study deals to visualize the spatial distribution of ARIs in first instance and further to investigate their underlying temporal pattern in Bahawalpur district of Southern Punjab Pakistan. The main purpose is to measure spatial patterns of ARIs which might be helpful for better understanding its environmental determinants and leads to hypothesis generation for further investigation. Study design selected to conduct this research is of descriptive and exploratory nature. Epidemiological data of ARIs was collected mainly through 115 health centres from the study area for year 2010 to 2012 and was used to map spatial patterns of ARIs through Inverse distance weighted (IDW) spatial interpolation and Spatial Autocorrelation and Cluster Outlier Analysis. Results show that the clusters of ARIs were found mainly around urban units of tehsils. The study also suggests the set of remedies and policy changes addressing the local environmental problems and to reducing the incidence of ARIs through collaboration of local government and community. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Korean Spatial Information Society.
... Disease transmission by houseflies is greatest where inadequate refuse storage, collection and disposal is accompanied by inadequate sanitation [63]. A previous study found that there is key connection between the inappropriate waste disposal and occurrence of vector borne diseases [64]. Health risks comes from areas with heaps of indiscriminately dumped soiled disposable diapers as they are sources of many diseases particularly diarrheal diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites. ...
... In the absence of a proper landfill facility in the study area, the odour of openly thrown waste is also teasing for the residents. [24]. It is found in a study that dumpsites emit unpleasant odour and smoke that causes sickness to the nearby living people [26]. ...
... Table 7 shows the methods of solid waste dumping and types of impacts on the environment. Results make it clear that removal of the vegetal cover was 7 rodents, and vermin, causes of water and soil contamination and obnoxious odour [24]. A study conducted in Karan district, Mogadishu, Somalia of skin disease, about 19 (12.7%) were facing respiratory disease while 55 (36.7%) were in pollution of water air and soil sources [25]. ...
Growing population and various economic activities in the cities has increased the generation of solid waste several times. Therefore, the main objective of the current research was to briefly investigate the impact of municipal solid waste on the environment and human health in Bahawalpur city. For this purpose, primary data about solid waste
problems were collected using a structured questionnaire. Three hundred (300) respondents were asked from the residents of four study areas viz. Islami Colony, Model Town C, Model Town B, and Satellite Town (75 from each area) by applying simple random sampling. Necessary secondary data is collected from Bahawalpur Waste Management
Company (BWMC). The analysis of the data was carried out in SPSS 17 by applying descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and a five-point Likert scale. Findings revealed that the problem is most aggravated in low-income areas (e.g. Islami Colony and Model Town C) where the performance of solid waste was counted average, poor, and very
poor. Improper collection and disposal of solid waste also responsible for odour related problems mainly from waste throwing in open spaces like vomiting, land degradation, etc. This situation creates various environmental problems i.e. heaps of rubbish, dirty streets, flies and mosquitoes, and others. The ineffective management of solid waste was
also creating severe diseases related to public health i.e. Malaria, respiratory problems, diarrhea, and others. The correlation results also highly significant and indicative that inadequate handling and throwing of solid waste creating severe environmental problems and diseases in the study areas.
