scholarly journals COVID-19 and Livable Cities in Asia and the Pacific: Guidance Note

2020 ◽  

This guidance note aims to support cities in ADB developing member countries to effectively and immediately respond to the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and “build back better” in the short and medium terms. COVID-19 is causing an unprecedented global impact on cities across the world. The proposed approaches and actions discussed in this guidance note are anchored to the core principles of ADB’s Strategy 2030 Operational Plan for Priority 4: Making Cities More Livable and also considers the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic. The guidance note is one of a series produced by ADB for key sectors and thematic areas.

2005 ◽  
Vol 498-499 ◽  
pp. 420-424
Author(s):  
M.A.F. Ramalho ◽  
Lisiane Navarro de Lima Santana ◽  
Gelmires Araújo Neves ◽  
Hélio Lucena Lira

The recycling of industrial residues has being intensified all over the world, mainly due to the increase of the impact to the environment, and the growing volume of solid residues that put in risk the public health and degrade the natural resources. So, the aim of this work is to study the potentiality of the residue from kaolin industry, as ceramic raw material to produce porcelanate gres. A composition was formulated, mixed and forming by pressing (from 30 MPa to 50 MPa). After, it was sinterized at temperatures of 1180°C, 1200°C, 1220°C and 1240°C. The samples were submitted to physical and mechanical tests and characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The preliminary results from physical and mechanical properties showed that the residue can be used to produce porcelanate gres according to Brasilian Norms (NBR 13818), at temperatures of 1220°C and 1240°C.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Souad Guessar

In March 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the new Corona virus is a global pandemic. The World Health Organization and the public health authority of various countries are working to contain the spread of the virus through quarantine. But these crises raise the level of stress and psychological tension on individuals and society. As well as Algeria is not an exception and this research will be on the extent of the impact of the pandemic on the conduct of lessons at the universities level in Algeria, which were not equipped for such situations during the outbreak of the emerging corona virus, and try to analyze the situation and then proposing some solutions that can work if it hurts humanity and the Algerians, especially an epidemic like the Corona virus pandemic (COVID-19).


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Md. Shahbub Alam ◽  
Md. Jafor Ali ◽  
Abul Bashar Bhuiyan ◽  
Mohammad Solaiman ◽  
Mohammad Abdur Rahman

Since the outburst of Covid-19 in China, the world economy is passing in a turmoil situation. Undeniably the economy of Bangladesh is also grappled by the severe public health crisis of the Covid-19. As the public health emergency is heavily interconnected with economic affairs, it has impacted each of the pillars of the economy of Bangladesh. The main purpose of this paper is to make evaluations of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy of Bangladesh.  This study is based on an empirical review of the recent study works, reports, working papers of home, and abroad regarding economic crisis. The review findings of the paper revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic have significant impacts on the different indicators of the economy of Bangladesh especially, Readymade Garments Sector, Foreign Remittance, Bank and Financial Institutions, Food and Agricultures, Local Trade, Foreign Trade (Export and Import), GDP (Gross Domestic Product), SDGs (Sustainable Development Goal), Government Revenue and Employment etc. This study suggested that as Covid-19 still surfacing all over the world so some steps should be ensured by the government agencies of Bangladesh to mitigate possible threats for the economy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Leather ◽  
Noel Chavez

The unprecedented impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused enormous changes to the transport landscape in developing Asia and the Pacific region. This guidance note documents how COVID-19 has affected and is continuing to affect transport operators and users across the region, from personal mobility choices to public transport, to the aviation industry, among many other facets. Insights are also shared on how the transport sector can help deliver greener and more resilient infrastructure as countries around the world plan for recovery and rejuvenation in the post-pandemic future. It is one of a series produced by the Asian Development Bank for key sectors and thematic areas.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Tapiwa V. Warikandwa ◽  
Patrick C. Osode

The incorporation of a trade-labour (standards) linkage into the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been persistently opposed by developing countries, including those in Africa, on the grounds that it has the potential to weaken their competitive advantage. For that reason, low levels of compliance with core labour standards have been viewed as acceptable by African countries. However, with the impact of WTO agreements growing increasingly broader and deeper for the weaker and vulnerable economies of developing countries, the jurisprudence developed by the WTO Panels and Appellate Body regarding a trade-environment/public health linkage has the potential to address the concerns of developing countries regarding the potential negative effects of a trade-labour linkage. This article argues that the pertinent WTO Panel and Appellate Body decisions could advance the prospects of establishing a linkage of global trade participation to labour standards without any harm befalling developing countries.


Author(s):  
Jock R. Anderson ◽  
Regina Birner ◽  
Latha Najarajan ◽  
Anwar Naseem ◽  
Carl E. Pray

Abstract Private agricultural research and development can foster the growth of agricultural productivity in the diverse farming systems of the developing world comparable to the public sector. We examine the extent to which technologies developed by private entities reach smallholder and resource-poor farmers, and the impact they have on poverty reduction. We critically review cases of successfully deployed improved agricultural technologies delivered by the private sector in both large and small developing countries for instructive lessons for policy makers around the world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Jevtic ◽  
C Bouland

Abstract Public health professionals (PHP) have a dual task in climate change. They should persuade their colleagues in clinical medicine of the importance of all the issues covered by the GD. The fact that the health sector contributes to the overall emissions of 4.4% speaks to the lack of awareness within the health sector itself. The issue of providing adequate infrastructure for the health sector is essential. Strengthening the opportunities and development of the circular economy within healthcare is more than just a current issue. The second task of PHP is targeting the broader population. The public health mission is being implemented, inter alia, through numerous activities related to environmental monitoring and assessment of the impact on health. GD should be a roadmap for priorities and actions in public health, bearing in mind: an ambitious goal of climate neutrality, an insistence on clean, affordable and safe energy, a strategy for a clean and circular economy. GD provides a framework for the development of sustainable and smart transport, the development of green agriculture and policies from field to table. It also insists on biodiversity conservation and protection actions. The pursuit of zero pollution and an environment free of toxic chemicals, as well as incorporating sustainability into all policies, is also an indispensable part of GD. GD represents a leadership step in the global framework towards a healthier future and comprises all the non-EU members as well. The public health sector should consider the GD as an argument for achieving goals at national levels, and align national public health policies with the goals of this document. There is a need for stronger advocacy of health and public-health interests along with incorporating sustainability into all policies. Achieving goals requires the education process for healthcare professionals covering all of topics of climate change, energy and air pollution to a much greater extent than before.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

Abstract This workshop is dedicated on SDGs in the focus of environmental and health issues, as very important and actual topic. One of the characteristics of today's societies is the significant availability of modern technologies. Over 5 billion (about 67%) people have a cellphone today. More than 4.5 billion people worldwide use the Internet, close to 60% of the total population. At the same time, one third of the people in the world does not have access to safe drinking water and half of the population does not have access to safe sanitation. The WHO at UN warns of severe inequalities in access to water and hygiene. Air, essential to life, is a leading risk due to ubiquitous pollution and contributes to the global disease burden (7 million deaths per year). Air pollution is a consequence of traffic and industry, but also of demographic trends and other human activities. Food availability reflects global inequality, famine eradication being one of the SDGs. The WHO warns of the urgency. As technology progresses, social inequality grows, the gap widens, and the environment continues to suffer. Furthermore, the social environment in societies is “ruffled” and does not appear to be beneficial toward well-being. New inequalities are emerging in the availability of technology, climate change, education. The achievement reports on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also point out to the need of reviewing individual indicators. According to the Sustainable Development Agenda, one of the goals is to reduce inequalities, and environmental health is faced by several specific goals. The Global Burden of Disease is the most comprehensive effort to date to measure epidemiological levels and trends worldwide. It is the product of a global research collaborative and quantifies the impact of hundreds of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in countries around the world. This workshop will also discuss Urban Health as a Complex System in the light of SDGs. Climate Change, Public Health impacts and the role of the new digital technologies is also important topic which is contributing to SDG3, improving health, to SDG4, allowing to provide distance health education at relatively low cost and to SDG 13, by reducing the CO2 footprint. Community Engagement can both empower vulnerable populations (so reducing inequalities) and identify the prior environmental issues to be addressed. The aim was to search for public health programs using Community Engagement tools in healthy environment building towards achievement of SDGs. Key messages Health professionals are involved in the overall process of transformation necessary to achieve the SDGs. Health professionals should be proactive and contribute to the transformation leading to better health for the environment, and thus for the human population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 632-638
Author(s):  
Stephanie A Bryson

This reflexive essay examines the adoption of an intentional ‘ethic of care’ by social work administrators in a large social work school located in the Pacific Northwest. An ethic of care foregrounds networks of human interdependence that collapse the public/private divide. Moreover, rooted in the political theory of recognition, a care ethic responds to crisis by attending to individuals’ uniqueness and ‘whole particularity.’ Foremost, it rejects indifference. Through the personal recollections of one academic administrator, the impact of rejecting indifference in spring term 2020 is described. The essay concludes by linking the rejection of indifference to the national political landscape.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Yijie Huang ◽  
Tao Ai ◽  
Jun Luo ◽  
Hanmin Liu

Abstract Background Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a change in the incidence and transmission of respiratory pathogens was observed. Here, we retrospectively analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on the epidemiologic characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection among children in Chengdu, one of the largest cities of western China. Method M. pneumoniae infection was diagnosed in 33,345 pediatric patients with respiratory symptoms at the Chengdu Women’s & Children’s Central Hospital between January 2017 and December 2020, based on a serum antibody titer of ≥1:160 measured by the passive agglutination assay. Differences in infection rates were examined by sex, age, and temporal distribution. Results Two epidemic outbreaks occurred between October-December 2017 and April-December 2019, and two infection peaks were detected in the second and fourth quarters of 2017, 2018, and 2019. Due to the public health response to COVID-19, the number of positive M. pneumoniae cases significantly decreased in the second quarter of 2020. The number of M. pneumoniae infection among children aged 3–6 years was higher than that in other age groups. Conclusions Preschool children are more susceptible to M. pneumoniae infection and close contact appears to be the predominant factor favoring pathogen transmission. The public health response to COVID-19 can effectively control the transmission of M. pneumoniae.


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