IMPACT OF URBANIZATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH QUALITY
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IMPACT OF URBANIZATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH QUALITY
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background for the Study
Contemporary globalisation and urbanisation are repeating historical conditions related with the genesis of infectious diseases, as well as the recurring pattern of epidemics and pandemics.
The characteristics of contemporary globalisation have contributed to different institutional gaps, making dealing with infectious diseases more challenging and threatening concentrated human groups with disaster (Gibson and Gumer, 2012). The global population has been rapidly urbanising in recent decades.
According to Chilala (2015), rapid urbanisation has a substantial impact on migrant health. The increased mobility of individuals from rural to urban regions frequently modifies the country’s typical epidemiological illness profile, while new diseases originate or existing ones resurface.
This is the case with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and the recent cases of Ebola and Lassa fever. Urbanisation is also linked to dietary and physical activity changes that raise the incidence of obesity, which increases the risk of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Philip (1993) describes urbanisation as a physical shift in which an increasing share of the population lives in urban areas. It also involves significant changes in how these people live, how they earn a living, the food they eat, and the various environmental elements to which they are exposed.
Another underlying assumption is that urban populations will become healthier than rural communities, and higher levels of urbanisation will be associated with better health outcomes.
However, it is clear that in many cities, particularly in developing countries, the poor face greater hazards and have a lower health status than their wealthier counterparts.
Furthermore, while urban people may potentially have better access to health care and services than residents in many rural regions, and while many health indices appear to be better in more highly urbanised countries than those less so, there are limitations (Vlahov et al., 2007).
Residents of certain cities in middle-income countries, particularly the impoverished, face a twofold danger of infection and chronic degenerative diseases.
It has been emphasised that urbanisation, specifically the concentration of humans in new regions, might expose vast numbers of people to new risk factors. The rise of infectious and parasitic diseases in certain urban areas, as well as the introduction of chronic diseases, necessitates investment in new types of health and social care.
However, a variety of restrictions impede the accomplishment of enhanced urban health, particularly in developing nations (Ojogbe, 2002; Kotz, 2009; Salau, 2012).
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