BMC Public Health (Jan 2022)

Investigating the current environmental situation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic: urban vs. rural context

  • Mohamed Abouzid,
  • Dina M. El-Sherif,
  • Yahya Al Naggar,
  • Mohammed M. Alshehri,
  • Shaima Alothman,
  • Hesham R. El-Seedi,
  • Rayhana Trabelsi,
  • Osama Mohamed Ibrahim,
  • Esraa Hamouda Temraz,
  • Ahmad Buimsaedah,
  • Ibrahim Adel Aziz,
  • Muhammad Alwan,
  • Nuha Hadi Jasim Al Hasan,
  • Heba Nasser Ragab,
  • Abdullah Muhammed Koraiem,
  • Mareb H. Ahmed,
  • Heba Hamouda Temraz,
  • Alyaa Khaled Madeeh,
  • Mohanned Osama Alshareif,
  • Fatimah Saad Elkhafeefi,
  • Imed-Eddine Badis,
  • Asmaa E. Abdelslam,
  • Almajdoub Ali Mohammed Ali,
  • Nour El Imene Kotni,
  • Thuraya Amer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12313-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Background Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a massive global socio-economic tragedy that has impacted the ecosystem. This paper aims to contextualize urban and rural environmental situations during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. Results An online survey was conducted, 6770 participants were included in the final analysis, and 64% were females. The majority of the participants were urban citizens (74%). Over 50% of the urban residents significantly (p < 0.001) reported a reduction in noise, gathering in tourist areas, and gathering in malls and restaurants. Concerning the pollutants, most urban and rural areas have reported an increase in masks thrown in streets (69.49% vs. 73.22%, resp.; p = 0.003). Plastic bags and hospital waste also increased significantly with the same p-value of < 0.001 in urban areas compared with rural ones. The multifactorial logistic model for urban resident predictors achieved acceptable discrimination (AUROC = 0.633) according to age, crowdedness, noise and few pollutants. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic had a beneficial impact on the environment and at the same time, various challenges regarding plastic and medical wastes are rising which requires environmental interventions.

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