Search Results (161)

Taxing multinational corporations raises significant government revenue to support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).This study examines Philips, a multinational corporation that publicly reports country-by-country data on revenue, profits, taxes, employees and tangible assets, using the Government Revenue and Development Estimations (GRADE) econometric model to estimate the development impact of its corporate income tax contributions. Tax payments do not always reflect actual economic activity in host countries due to profit shifting. This study also assesses the degree to which reported profits align with economic activity. Results indicate Philips’ tax payments make a meaningful positive contribution to sustainable development: government revenue equivalent to these payments enables over 1100 additional children to attend school daily and advances SDG progress on basic water (8100 people), sanitation (13,400 people), clean fuels (28,000 people) and electricity (1700 people). However, analysis reveals some misalignment between reported profits and economic activity across countries, suggesting unrealised potential in Philips’ development contribution. Modelling a reallocation of taxing rights to host countries where economic activity occurs using unitary tax with formulary apportionment indicates that annual tax payments may average $78 million higher in constant 2015 USD, potentially enabling 900 more children to attend school and expanding access to basic water (6500 people), sanitation (9600 people), clean fuels (22,600 people) and electricity (7400 people). These findings highlight the value of transparent country-by-country reporting as a foundation for evidence-based tax policy reform and the significant development gains from Philips’ tax payments and greater gains if profits were better aligned with economic activity. Full article

In-depth analysis of epidemic models, particularly for cholera, is crucial because they serve as significant tools for disease transmission prediction, evaluation of control strategies, and optimization of healthcare resource management. The stochastic models provide increased realism by incorporating environmental uncertainty such as variability in water quality, disparities in access to sanitation, and population mobility. The present work generalizes a deterministic two-patch cholera model to a stochastic framework. We first prove the existence and uniqueness of global solutions, then establish the extinction condition $R_0^{*}<1$ for disease eradication in the long term. A key contribution lies in proving the existence of a unique ergodic stationary distribution when $R_0^{\left(1\right)}>1$ and $R_0^{\left(2\right)}>1$. Furthermore, we derive the stochastic threshold $R_0=\text{max}\{R_0^{\left(1\right)},R_0^{\left(2\right)}\}$, which corresponds to the basic reproduction number ${\mathcal{R}}_0=\text{max}\{{\mathcal{R}}_0^{\left(1\right)},{\mathcal{R}}_0^{\left(2\right)}\}$. Lastly, numerical simulations are employed to confirm theoretical results. Full article

Background: Health accessibility is a key determinant of equitable cancer care. In many countries, specialized oncology services are concentrated in urban and socioeconomically advantaged regions, forcing many patients to travel long distances for treatment. Consequently, geographic and social characteristics may be impactful in determining cancer healthcare outcomes. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the municipal-level Social Progress Index (SPI) and geographic travel burden, stage at diagnosis, treatment, and survival in patients with pancreatic cancer in São Paulo state, Brazil. Methods: We conducted a population-based study using data from “Fundação Oncocentro” on adults with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (2005–2025). The SPI (0–100 scale), a composite measure of municipal social and environmental development, was the primary exposure. It is structured into 3 dimensions and 12 components: Basic Human Needs (nutrition, medical care, water and sanitation, housing, safety); Foundations of Well-being (education, information access, health, environmental quality); and Opportunity (rights, freedom of choice, social inclusion, higher education). Municipal residence and cancer center locations were geocoded, and travel distance (km) was estimated. Multivariable Cox, logistic, and linear regression models assessed associations between SPI and overall survival, stage IV at diagnosis, surgery, and travel distance. Results: A total of 13,478 patients were included (mean follow-up 15.1 ± 27.2 months; mean age 62.3 years; 50.4% male). Stage IV disease was frequent (46.3%), and surgery was performed in 33% of cases. Over half of patients (53.2%) traveled more than 10 km for treatment. Increasing SPI was strongly associated with shorter travel distance (β −62.6 km per SPI unit; p < 0.001) and higher odds of surgery (OR 1.04; p < 0.001) and remained independently associated with a higher likelihood of undergoing surgical treatment (adjusted OR 1.04; p < 0.001). The proportion of stage IV disease did not decrease with increasing SPI and was slightly higher in the highest quartile (49.3%). In survival analysis, SPI demonstrated a protective effect in univariate modeling (HR 0.987; p < 0.001), but lost significance in multivariable analysis (p = 0.125). Travel burden was not retained as an independent predictor of survival after adjustment. Conclusions: Municipal-level SPI was a strong determinant of healthcare access and the likelihood of receiving surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer. Social and geographic vulnerability directly influence care pathways, revealing structural inequities in access to treatment. SPI-based stratification may serve as a practical tool to identify priority regions for transport support and equitable allocation of oncology services. Full article

Brucellosis remains a significant public health and economic burden in many regions, primarily transmitted from livestock to humans through direct contact and environmental contamination. In this paper, we develop a novel cross-species epidemic model that couples the transmission dynamics of brucellosis among sheep, humans, and the environmental reservoir of Brucella. The sheep population is divided into susceptible, exposed, infectious, and vaccinated compartments, while the human population is stratified into susceptible and infected classes. Environmental brucella load is explicitly modeled, and distributed time delays are incorporated to account for incubation periods and delayed exposure risks in humans. We prove that all solutions are non-negative and ultimately bounded, ensuring biological consistency. The basic reproduction number ${\mathcal{R}}_0$ is derived using the next-generation matrix method. Using Lyapunov functionals and LaSalle’s invariance principle, we establish that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when ${\mathcal{R}}_0\le 1$, whereas a unique endemic equilibrium exists and is globally asymptotically stable when ${\mathcal{R}}_0>1$. Sensitivity analysis identifies the environmental transmission rate, shedding rate, and disinfection as the most influential parameters. Treatment efficacy is shown to exhibit a critical threshold $p^{\mathrm{cr}}=1-1/{\mathcal{R}}_0$, above which eradication becomes feasible. Numerical simulations validate the theoretical findings and demonstrate that time delays affect outbreak timing but not asymptotic stability. These results provide quantitative guidance for brucellosis control strategies, emphasizing environmental sanitation, culling, and vaccination as key interventions. Full article

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 remains highly uneven across countries, while the structural factors associated with this heterogeneity are still insufficiently understood. This study aims to classify 154 countries according to their full 17-dimensional SDG achievement profiles and to identify the structural indicators statistically associated with the observed typological differences. A two-stage analytical approach was applied. First, k-means cluster analysis based on the scores of all 17 SDGs was used to identify homogeneous groups of countries. Second, canonical discriminant analysis was performed for 64 countries with complete data for 17 indicators selected from international sources according to the “one indicator–one goal” principle. The cluster analysis identified three typologically homogeneous groups of countries that broadly correspond to differences in development level but are not reducible to them. The discriminant model achieved apparent classification accuracy of 90.63% (p < 0.0001), while the first canonical function explained 90.3% of the between-group variation. LOO cross-validation yielded an accuracy of 71.43%, confirming that the model retains meaningful discriminatory power beyond the estimation sample, while the difference between apparent and cross-validated accuracy reflects the constraints of a small sample relative to the number of predictors. The strongest differentiating indicators were the proportion of the urban population living in slums, the Global Peace Index, access to sanitation, and poverty. Overall, the results show that SDG achievement profiles constitute an independent analytical characteristic of countries and that typological differences are primarily associated with basic human development and institutional stability. Full article

Water is fundamental to urban sustainability, structuring the urban water cycle from supply to wastewater treatment and discharge. Basic sanitation services are a core component of this system, directly influencing sustainable water use and environmental quality. Sanitation 4.0 applies Industry 4.0 technologies to enable real-time monitoring, data-driven management, and process optimization. This study investigates how the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies transforms the management of basic sanitation services. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to provide a theoretical foundation and identify research gaps. Articles were selected using a structured and reproducible method, and qualitative data were coded and analyzed with NVivo software. The results indicate that Sanitation 4.0 encompasses diverse applications, with artificial intelligence (AI), big data and data analytics, and internet of things (IoT) emerging as the most frequently implemented technologies in water distribution, wastewater treatment, and service management. IoT demonstrated broad versatility, while robots and augmented reality remain underexplored. Data security emerged as the area most in need of attention. This research concludes that Industry 4.0 technologies are reshaping the management and delivery of sanitation services, supporting innovation and progress toward universal access. Full article

Large portions of rural population in South Africa lack access to basic water and sanitation. This advocates for urgent interventions in support of water supply. This study assessed the performance of solar-powered groundwater pumping systems established at nine pilot sites in rural areas of Greater Giyani Municipality (Limpopo, South Africa). Performance assessment indicators, namely weather, groundwater abstraction, power supply, water supply, water quality, number of beneficiaries and farm productivity, were monitored (2023–2024). Increased groundwater abstraction reduced groundwater levels by 0.4–11 m, depending on the monitored borehole. This was replenished by above-average rainfall in 2023 (≈650 mm). Power supply and pump discharge rates were stable with generally low fluctuations at recommended pumping rates (0.5–2.0 L s⁻¹). Groundwater quality was generally fit to marginal for irrigation and drinking. High levels of NO₃⁻ and total organic carbon, especially in the proximity of villages, mandated the installation of mini water treatment plants for drinking water. The implementation of solar-powered groundwater pumping schemes was generally successful, with more than 5000 villagers benefiting directly from the interventions, whilst smallholder farms turned into commercial and financially viable enterprises. Long-term monitoring of bio-physical and socio-economic drivers is essential to ensure long-term sustainability of the solar-powered groundwater pumping systems. Full article

Global water scarcity has intensified over recent decades, with projections suggesting that nearly six billion people may face limited access to clean water by 2050. Water reuse has emerged as a viable strategy to alleviate pressure on freshwater resources, particularly for non-potable applications. However, safe implementation requires wastewater to be treated to meet fit-for-purpose quality standards established through regional and national regulatory frameworks. Despite high levels of basic sanitation coverage in high-income countries such as the United States, persistent gaps remain in affordable and equitable wastewater management, particularly in small and underserved communities. This review focused on current knowledge of sustainable low-cost materials, including plant-based, clay, and clay-based ceramics; animal-derived products; and industrial by-products, used to remove a broad range of contaminants, including heavy metals, dyes, nutrients, emerging contaminants, and pathogens, from wastewater. The mechanisms governing their performance, such as adsorption, coagulation–flocculation, and filtration, were examined alongside contaminant-specific performance. The review further highlights the emerging role of 3D printing in developing customizable, efficient, and scalable treatment units using low-cost or waste-derived materials. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies were evaluated to highlight their role as a flexible framework for assessing environmental impacts across life-cycle stages and for guiding the selection of sustainable materials and treatment systems. Together, these perspectives provide a comprehensive foundation for developing decentralized, community-oriented wastewater treatment solutions that support safe and effective water reuse, especially in rural and small communities. Full article

The Horn of Africa (Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan) faces the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition in the world, exacerbated by conflict and adverse weather conditions. These factors have serious health, educational, social, and economic consequences, especially for children under five and pregnant women. In this context, we analyze each country’s progress toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2, 3, and 4, which are closely linked to the eradication of hunger, improved health, and access to quality education. Using comparable data from the United Nations 2030 Agenda up to 2019, the achievement of the SDGs is assessed through a multidimensional approach based on Pena’s P₂ distance method, constructing a composite indicator that allows for robust cross-country comparisons. This method helps identify the key measures needed to prevent future humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa, including providing urgent assistance to these countries in vital areas such as water, nutrition, education, sanitation, and child and maternal immunization. Factors related to the work of qualified healthcare personnel in treating diseases and improving maternal and neonatal health, as well as facilitating access to basic services such as clean drinking water and sanitation and ensuring girls’ access to primary education, top the rankings in terms of their correlation with greater progress by these countries in achieving these four SDGs, which are crucial for improving the well-being of their populations. Full article

Earthquakes often cause prolonged electricity outages that disrupt essential health services and basic water, sanitation, and hygiene functions in hospitals and field clinics. This study combines a focused literature review with a time-step energy balance simulation developed in MATLAB 25.2 and Simulink to examine how power interruptions translate into public health risks and to evaluate microgrid-based resilience solution designs. Conventional electricity supply with diesel backup is compared with hybrid solar power, battery storage, and diesel generator configurations under five outage scenarios that vary by duration, fuel availability, and solar conditions. The results indicate that diesel-only strategies are highly vulnerable to fuel supply disruptions, leading to substantial downtime of critical services and increased unmet essential electricity demand. Hybrid microgrid configurations demonstrated a significant improvement in critical-load continuity, thereby enhancing the capacity to sustain essential care during prolonged outages. In the fuel-constrained 72 h outage scenario (S2: 24 h diesel availability), the hospital case shows critical service availability increasing from ~48% (diesel-only) to ~87% (PV + battery + diesel), with similar improvements for the field clinic (~46% to ~85%). Hybrid microgrids improve critical-load continuity via solar generation, battery buffering, and priority-based load shedding, while reducing diesel runtime and extending fuel autonomy. The model also relates energy performance to a WASH-supportability proxy relevant to infection prevention. Full article

Health and hygiene are critical components of sustainable travel and tourism development, particularly in the post-emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic when traveler confidence is closely tied to the resilience of the destination. This paper examines global health and hygiene conditions using data from the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024, with a focus on disparities across regions and income groups. Five key indicators—physician density, basic sanitation, basic drinking water, hospital bed density, and communicable disease incidence—are analyzed to assess healthcare infrastructure, accessibility, and public health resilience. By comparing data from 2021 and 2024, the study evaluates changes during and after the peak period of the COVID-19 crisis, highlighting progress and persistent inequalities relevant to sustainable travel and tourism development. Using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank correlation analysis, the study also investigates the associations between key health and hygiene indicators, specifically (i) basic sanitation and basic drinking water coverage and (ii) physician density and hospital bed density, at the global, regional, and income group levels. The results reveal pronounced regional and income-related disparities. Europe and Eurasia consistently outperform other regions, with high healthcare capacity and near-universal sanitation and water access, while Sub-Saharan Africa continues to face systemic deficits in all indicators. High-income countries have well-developed healthcare systems, whereas low-income countries struggle with limited physician availability, poor sanitation coverage, and high communicable disease incidence. Associations between key indicators are also evident: countries with strong sanitation infrastructure almost always achieve high drinking water coverage, and those with higher physician density typically maintain higher hospital bed capacity. These findings highlight the uneven pace of global recovery and emphasize that health and hygiene are not only public health priorities but also fundamental drivers of tourism competitiveness. Full article

Inadequate hygiene knowledge and poor sanitation practices remain key challenges to safe learning environments in South Africa, with 462 million learners attending schools without basic handwashing facilities and many schools failing to meet sanitation standards. Although national policies and infrastructure investments have improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in some schools, access and behaviours remain uneven across socio-economic contexts. This study evaluated knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to WASH among 1200 learners from 40 high schools in Durban using a cross-sectional design and interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, ANOVA, and multiple regression. The study addressed the research question: To what extent do learners’ knowledge and attitudes predict hygiene practices across socio-economic contexts? It was hypothesised that higher knowledge and more positive attitudes would significantly predict improved hygiene practices. Results showed that while 74.6% reported handwashing after toilet use, only 39.3% consistently used soap. Knowledge of disease transmission through unsafe water was 35.4%, although overall attitudes were positive. Learners from higher-quintile schools had significantly better KAP scores than those from lower quintiles (p < 0.001). Both knowledge (β = 0.232, p < 0.001) and attitudes (β = 0.266, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of learners’ hygiene practices. Significant group differences were also observed by gender (t = 18.032, p = 0.001) and district (t = −3.895, p = 0.001). These findings highlight persistent WASH gaps and inequities across schools, underscoring the need for integrated interventions that strengthen both hygiene education and school infrastructure to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6. Full article

Fluoxetine (FLX) is an antidepressant pertaining to the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. FLX use has increased in the past decade culminating in its discharge to surface waters. Owing to the limited knowledge about the toxicity of this drug to aquatic biota, this study aimed to evaluate potential toxic effects of FLX on green algae Chlorella vulgaris, cyanobacteria Microcystis novacekii, marine bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri, and mollusk Biomphalaria glabrata. Assays with C. vulgaris and M. novacekii followed OECD protocol 201 (2011) and NBR 12648 standard (2018), respectively. The assay with A. fischeri was carried out according to ISO/OIN 11348-3 (2007). Toxicity assays with B. glabrata were performed by exposing these organisms (newborn and embryos) in 24-well culture plates for 3 and 7 days, respectively. All test-organisms were exposed to at least 6 different concentrations of FLX, ranging from 0.1 to 20,000 µg/L, in triplicates. Effect concentrations (EC50) obtained for these assays showed that FLX is more toxic to M. novacekii (10.71 ± 1.67 µg/L), followed by C. vulgaris (13.01 ± 2.01 µg/L) and A. fischeri (3140 ± 1050 µg/L). Regarding B. glabrata, the 50% lethal concentration for newborns was 1770 ± 260 µg/L, while for embryos it was equivalent to 34.98 ± 3.66 µg/L. Considering recent reports of FLX occurrence in environmental matrices in the µg/L range, results reported in this study and the toxicity classification criteria by the Globally Harmonized System, FLX poses high risk to aquatic environments, its biodiversity, and ecosystems. Therefore, measures must be taken to prevent the disposal of waste containing FLX into the environment, especially in region lacking basic sanitation infrastructure. Full article

To address demand–supply mismatches in traditional village human settlements (TVHSs), this study builds on existing human settlement research by introducing cultural landscape theory and constructing a comprehensive framework that includes the hard (infrastructure, living environment, ecological environment, and environmental sanitation) and soft environment (social services, economic environment, and cultural environment). Villagers’ and experts’ perceptions of importance are integrated through a hierarchical weighting system combining AHP, CRITIC, and GRA. In addition, cluster analyses, the importance–satisfaction (IS) model, the obstacle degree model, and mediation analyses are employed to identify village classifications, determine optimization indicators, and assess mechanism effects. The findings indicate the following: (1) The overall satisfaction with TVHSs in Northeast China is moderate, with a stepwise decline from northeast to southwest, and the economic environment significantly lags behind other dimensions. (2) Four village classifications are identified—demonstration, basic-level development, potential-focused, and priority improvement. (3) The optimization indicators across classifications include toilet conditions, village cleanliness, school accessibility, and access to medical services, resulting in strategies such as “cultural landscape empowerment” and “telemedicine coverage”. (4) Mediation analyses show that improvements in the hard environment enhance overall satisfaction both directly and indirectly through social services and the economic environment. These findings highlight the close link between satisfaction and regional development, underscoring the need for dynamic monitoring and greater emphasis on the cultural dimension to support TVHS optimization and rural revitalization. Full article

Foodborne diseases (FBDs) represent significant public health concerns as they are conditions associated with deficient manufacturing practices. They comprise important diseases with acute or chronic courses, frequently occurring in outbreak form and associated with significant gastrointestinal disorders. FBDs are related to infrastructure and organizational issues in urban centers, such that contamination in food processing facilities, lack of access to basic sanitation, and social and financial vulnerability are some of the factors that favor their occurrence and the demand for health services. Among the agents associated with FBDs is Listeria sp., especially Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes). The objective of this article is to characterize L. monocytogenes and its potential impact on One Health, given its importance as a significant foodborne pathogen. A thorough scientific literature search was conducted to obtain information on the subject, aiming to assist in the verification and presentation of evidence. L. monocytogenes is a pathogen with specific characteristics that ensure its adhesion, adaptation, growth, and survival on various surfaces, such as biofilm formation ability and thermotolerance. Several diagnostic methods are available for detection of the agent, including enrichment media, molecular techniques, and subtyping evaluation. Its control represents a significant challenge, with critical implications due to bacterial perpetuation characteristics and the implementation/monitoring of sanitization programs and commercialization of animal-derived products (POAO). Thus, vulnerable and susceptible populations are more exposed to foodborne pathogens due to health-related determinants, such as inadequate sanitation, poor food safety control, and insufficient personal hygiene. The pathogen’s persistence and difficulty of control represent a significant public One Health threat. Full article