Open sewage
Proper refuse disposal is a huge problem in Africa. Countries like Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria, to name a few are some of the places where residents are forced to live in close proximity to the waste they generate due to inadequate waste management.
For instance, in Kibera, Kenya, “Broken and open sewers pose a threat to residents,” as reported by Enca.
This, in turn, pollutes the city’s ecosystem which makes residents more susceptible to diseases that are rapidly spread.
In Western Africa, it is not uncommon to see garbage piled up in mini landfills within residential areas. One example is the Agbogbloshie, a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the center of Accra, Ghana.
The area is alleged to be at the center of a legal and illegal exportation network for the environmental dumping of electronic waste (e-waste) from industrialized nations.
Inhabitants in the area who emigrate from the Northern and rural regions of Ghana eat, work and relieve themselves on waste and the space they inhabit.
Poisons such as lead, mercury, arsenic, dioxins, furans, and brominated flame retardants penetrate the soil and water supply which has caused severe pollution.