By analyzing the impact of both public water supply and water handling containers, this paper makes an important contribution to the literature regarding the effectiveness of water supply programs based on the following related outcomes: objective and subjective water quality at the source and Point-of-use (POU), POU water treatment, water transport and storage behavior, and uptake of new, improved water points.
By the year 2019, the number of people without access to electricity was 770 million, most of which lived in rural areas. The currently models for rural electrification are often limited in their electrical analysis, or focus on a idealistic optimal solution whilst ignoring the real hierarchical topology of power systems. This work proposes a rural electrification strategy that makes use of Geographic Information System (GIS), graph theory and terrain analysis to create the best electric network topology.
Urban regions in sub-Saharan Africa are growing significantly more rapid than their also growing rural counterparts. However, the employment perspectives in rural areas are decreasing, and thus the urban growth can become a driver for enhanced livelihoods in the rural areas.
This paper presents an analysis of the path towards a clean energy transition in rural areas, from the time that households do not have electricity access from any source, to when they get access to the national electricity; considering the intermediate access to an off-grid renewable technology, as well as the post-electrification years. For this, field household-level data are collected through surveys and electricity consumption measurements in rural Kenya.
Urbanisation involves major changes in environmental conditions such as light, temperature, humidity and noise levels, but the effect of urbanisation on soil conditions and soil biodiversity has received less attention. The reported effects on species richness across a rural to urban landscapes are not unequivocal. Positive, negative and neutral effects have been found, but what is causing this ambiguity in the relationship between species richness and urbanisation is poorly understood.
Agricultural wastes are readily available in farming communities and can be utilised for off-grid electrification as an alternative to diesel generators. This work evaluates for the first time the life cycle environmental sustainability of these small-scale systems in the context of Southeast Asia. Rice and coconut residues are considered for direct combustion and gasification, and livestock manure for anaerobic digestion. Overall, anaerobic digestion is the best option for 14 out of 18 impacts estimated through life cycle assessment.
In this study, we explore the role of telemedicine in reducing gender-based barriers women and girls in rural areas of Nepal are facing to access healthcare services. Data were collected through a mixed method consisting of questionnaires survey, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with mobile phone and video conference-based telemedicine users. Data were analysed through descriptive and thematic analysis. Results revealed that telemedicine reduced travel restrictions, treatment expenses, and apprehension regarding sexual and reproductive health consultation.
A review of electricity access projects in rural areas reveals a number of unsustainable features. Each rural area can be very different with regard to the socioeconomic conditions and the dynamics between society and technology. This research is a comparative study to assess the impact of techno socioeconomic factors on the sustainability of two microhydro power projects. The assessment of sustainability projects was based on sustainable development indicators for rural electrification, considering technical, economic, social, environmental and institutional sustainability.
