“It Is Like We Are Living in a Different World”: Health Inequity in Communities Surrounding Industrial Mining Sites in Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and Tanzania

Andrea Leuenberger, Olga Cambaco, Hyacinthe R. Zabré, Isaac Lyatuu, Jürg Utzinger, Khátia Munguambe, Sonja Merten and Mirko S. Winkler
Additional contact information
Andrea Leuenberger: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Olga Cambaco: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Hyacinthe R. Zabré: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Isaac Lyatuu: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Jürg Utzinger: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Khátia Munguambe: Manhiça Health Research Centre, Maputo C.P. 1929, Mozambique
Sonja Merten: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Mirko S. Winkler: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: Background: Health equity features prominently in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, yet there are wide disparities in health between and within countries. In settings of natural resource extraction (e.g., industrial mines), the health of surrounding communities is affected through myriad changes in the physical, social, and economic environment. How changes triggered by such projects translate into health inequities is poorly understood. Methods: This qualitative study explores potential layers of inequities by systematically coding perceived inequities of affected communities. Drawing on the framework method, we thematically analyzed data from 83 focus group discussions, which enrolled 791 participants from 10 study sites in Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Results: Participants perceived inequities related to their individual characteristics, intermediate factors acting on the community level, and structural conditions. Due to environmental pollution and land loss, participants were concerned about unsecured livelihoods. Positive impacts, such as job opportunities at the mine, remained scarce for local communities and were claimed not to be equally distributed among community members. Conclusion: Extractive industries bear considerable risks to widen existing health gaps. In order to create equal opportunities among affected populations, the wider determinants of health must be considered more explicitly in the licensing process of resource extraction projects.

Keywords: community-based research; equity; extractive industries; focus group discussion; health impact assessment; social determinants of health; sub-Saharan Africa; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11015/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11015/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:21:p:11015-:d:660505

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().