Public Health in Africa: Role of Nutrition and Environment

Many African countries are struggling to improve and protect the health of their population, which is a major challenge to the social and economic development of the continent. Countries are still grappling with major public health challenges such as access to safe drinking water, access to basic sanitation, worsening air pollution in urban settlements, access to clean cooking solutions, the proliferation of small-scale mining, and food and nutrition insecurity among several other challenges. These challenges are driven by population growth; poverty and socioeconomic deprivation; poor governance, corruption, lack of political will, and conflicts and political upheavals. The consequences of these challenges are the growing burden of cardiovascular, respiratory and other chronic diseases, high prevalence of child undernutrition, unfavorable pregnancy and birth outcomes, and vulnerability to infectious diseases among others, for which environmental health and nutrition interventions can help to address and salvage the public health situation on the continent.

The goal of this Research Topic is to receive and catalogue original research manuscripts and reviews that assesses the relationship between environmental and nutritional exposures of pressing concern in Africa, and the health outcomes increasing in prevalence on the continent. The research studies to be received must provide robust evidence for engaging communities and populations impacted by these exposures and influencing the region’s public health policy and programmatic decisions. The exposures of pressing concern in Africa include air pollution (household and ambient), water pollution, sanitation, heat stress, green spaces, heavy metals, e-waste burning, pesticides use, climate change, poor child feeding practices, maternal underweight, adulterated and contaminated foods, increased saturated fat, sugar and salt consumption, and decreased dietary fiber intake.

The collection will accept original research of the following epidemiologic design; cross-sectional, case-control, cohort and RCTs, systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Scoping and narrative reviews will not be accepted. Topics may include, but are by no means limited to public health in Africa concerning:

• Household air pollution and health
• Ambient air pollution and health
• Water pollution and health
• Sanitation and health
• Heat stress and health
• Green spaces and health
• Heavy metals and health
• e-waste burning and health
• Pesticides use and health
• Climate change and health
• Poor child feeding practices and child undernutrition
• Maternal underweight and unfavorable birth outcomes
• Adulterated and contaminated foods, and health
• Increased saturated fat, sugar and salt consumption, and cardiovascular health
• Decreased dietary fiber intake and cardiovascular health
• Exposome studies
• Circular economy and environmental health
• Nutrition, environment and infectious diseases