Solid waste disposal is one of the challenging components in integrated solid waste management. Particularly the problem is prominent in cities with rapid population growth and waste generation. Harar, a capital city of Harari regional state located in the eastern part of Ethiopia, covers an area of 19.5 km² and has a total population of 270 000. Despite the fastest population growth of the city, it doesn’t have a landfill site to accommodate the waste generated and open dumping is in full practice. As an integral part of a solid waste management plan, the construction of a landfill has been suggested by the city municipality. However, the multi-dimensional and conflicting aspect of landfill sitting, which involves environmental, social, technical, and economic considerations, challenges the location of a suitable landfill site. In the current study, we have applied geographic information system (GIS) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) multi-criteria decision analysis to select a landfill site through minimizing conflicting interests. Environmental and socio-economic factors including well water, distance from residence, land use and land cover, elevation, slope, and wind direction were weighted to develop a suitability index for landfill siting. Experts’ opinion was obtained to rank the aforementioned factors. The required landfill size was determined based on population growth, waste generation rate, and waste volume/year. Accordingly, the suitability index resulted in 3% of the area as highly suitable, and the rest 0.29%, 14.18%, 52.75%, and 29.8% classified as unsuitable, least suitable, moderately suitable, and suitable, respectively. Considering the future trend of waste generation, 16 ha of land located in the eastern part of the city was selected as a candidate landfill site with all the required suitability. The results of this study can be used as an input for decision making in siting landfill for Harar city.

Background. Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids has become a serious public health problem for healthcare workers and is a major risk for the transmission of various infections such as human immune-deficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the career time and previous one-year global pooled prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers. Methods. For the review, the articles published in English were searched using the electronic databases (SCOPUS/Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, DOAJ, and MedNar) with a combination of Boolean logic operators (AND, OR, and NOT), Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and keywords. A quality assessment was conducted to determine the relevance of the articles using JBI critical appraisal tools. Furthermore, several steps of assessment and evaluation were taken to select and analyze the relevant articles. Results. Of the 3912 articles identified through the electronic database search, 33 that met the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. The current study found that the global pooled prevalence of blood and body fluids among healthcare workers during career time and in the previous one year accounted for 56.6 (95 CI: 47.3, 65.4) and 39.0 (95 CI: 32.7, 45.7), respectively. Based on subgroup analysis by publication year, survey year, and World Health Organization regions, the highest prevalence of blood and body fluid exposure in the last 12 months was observed among articles published between 2004 and 2008 (66.3), conducted between 2003 and 2008 (66.6), and conducted in the Southeast Asia Region (46.9). The highest career time prevalence was 60.6, 71.0, and 68.4 for articles published between 2015 and 2020, conducted between 2015 and 2019, and reported in the African region, respectively. Conclusion. The current study revealed a high prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers and suggests the need to improve occupational health and safety services in healthcare systems globally.

Background: Sanitation or sanitary workers are exposed to hepatitis virus infections because of filthy and dangerous working conditions. The current global systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled sero-prevalence of occupationally associated hepatitis virus infection among them. Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA), and Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome and study design (PICOS) were used for flow diagram, and review questions, respectively. Four databases other methods were used published articles from 2000 to 2022. Boolean logic (AND, OR), MeSH, and keywords were used: (Occupation *OR Job *OR Work) AND (Hepatitis A *OR Hepatitis B virus *OR Hepatitis C virus *OR Hepatitis E virus) AND (Solid waste collectors [SWCs] *OR Street sweepers [SS] *OR Sewage workers [STWs] *OR health care facilities cleaners [HCFCs)) AND (Countries). Stata MP/17 software was used for pooled prevalence analysis, meta-regression analysis (Hedges) at a 95% confidence interval (CI:95%). Results: A total of 182 studies were identified studies, a total of 28 studies were included from twelve countries. Of these, from developed (n = 7) and developing countries (n = 5). From total a of 9049 sanitary workers, 5951(66%), 2280 (25%) and 818 (9%) were STWs, SWCs and SS, respectively. Globally, the pooled sero-prevalence of occupational-related hepatitis viral infections among sanitary workers was 38.06% (95% CI: 30–0.46.12). Of this, it was 42.96% (95% CI: 32.63–53.29) and 29.81% (95% CI: 17.59–42.02) for high-income and low-income countries, respectively. Meanwhile, by sub-analysis, the highest pooled sero-prevalence of hepatitis viral infections by categories, type and year were 47.66% (95%CI: 37.42–57.90), 48.45% (95% CI: 37.95–58.96), and 48.30% (95% CI: 36.13–60.47) for SWTs, HAV, and 2000 to 2010 year, respectively. Conclusion: The consistency of the evidence suggests that sanitation workers, particularly sewage workers, are susceptible to occupationally acquired hepatitis regardless of their working conditions, necessitating significant changes to occupational health and safety regulations from governmental policies and other initiatives to reduce risks among sanitary workers.

Fluoride concentration in drinking water higher than the recommended value imposes different health problems and there are advanced and chemical based defluoridation techniques, even if they are not feasible for developing countries and have limitations. Due to this, defluoridation by using locally available plants is one of the most efficient and sustainable options. Therefore, the current study was intended to investigate fluoride removal efficiency of Tulsi (Ocimum Sanctum) from water, which can be an alternative means to reduce the problem related to its high concentration. A laboratory-based experimental study was implemented by using potentiometric determination in Haramaya University. The leaves of Tulsi were collected, washed with tap water, rinsed with distilled water, and then dried at room temperature, crushed and sieved through a 500-μm stainless steel sieve. The experiments were conducted on water artificially fluoridated by anhydrous fluoride and natural water samples collected from deep well water sources from Adama and Harar town. Data was analyzed using Design of Expert (DOE) and Microsoft Excel. Twenty-nine runs for aqueous solution were conducted at different factor combinations and the optimum combinations were applied for natural water samples. The study depicts that the plant has an efficiency of removing 68.4% of fluoride from water. The best factor combinations to achieve this efficiency was 0.2 g/100 ml, 22.6 min, 5.7 and 6.6 mg/l, adsorbent dose, contact time, pH and initial concentration respectively. pH and initial concentration have a negative effect and adsorbent dose and contact time have a positive effect on removing fluoride from water. Hence, people living in fluorosis endemic areas can use the processed plant as a de-fluoridating agent to minimize adverse health effects.

Background: Long-acting reversible contraceptives have provided birth control for at least 2 years. A lack of contraception by couples during the postpartum period can result in unwanted pregnancies and social and economic consequences. Despite the multiple impacts of these practices, limited studies have been conducted on the prevalence of long-acting reversible contraceptive use and associated factors among postpartum women in the study area. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of long-acting reversible contraceptive use and its associated factors among postpartum women in public hospitals in the East Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. Method: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 614 study participants in the East Hararghe Zone, eastern Ethiopia. Systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants. A semi structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The collected data were coded and entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and subsequently exported to SPSS version 22 software for analysis. Descriptive analysis was computed using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to identify the factors associated with long-acting reversible contraceptive use among extended postpartum women. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and its 95% confidence interval were computed to show the strength of the association between the dependent and independent variables. The goodness of fit of the model was tested by using the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness of fit test, and the results were not significant (p=0.194). The results were then presented in tables, figures, and narratives. Results: The prevalence of long-acting reversible contraceptives was 33%. Women’s educational level (AOR= 11.32, 95% CI=4.672–27.393), counseling (AOR=3.648, 95% CI=1.88–7.08), prior use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (AOR=7, 95% CI=3.79–15.202), and discussion with husbands (AOR=2.75, 95% CI=1.56–4.84) were significantly associated with long-acting reversible contraception usage. Conclusion: Overall, the current study showed that the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives among extended postpartum women was low in eastern Ethiopia. Women’s educational level, prior use, discussions with husbands, and postnatal counseling were identified as significant associated factors for low use of long-acting reversible contraceptives among extended postpartum women. Therefore, strengthening counseling on the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives, improving women’s educational status, and providing postnatal counseling through discussion with spouses are important measures for enhancing the utilization of long-acting reversible contraceptives among extended postpartum women in the East Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia.