Plastic & health the hidden costs of a plastic planet

Despite being one of the most pervasive materials on the planet, plastic and its impact on human health is poorly understood. Human exposure to it grows with increasing plastic production and use. Research into the human health impacts of plastic to date have focused narrowly on specific moments in the plastic lifecycle, from wellhead to refinery, from store shelves to human bodies, and from disposal to ongoing impacts as air pollutants and ocean plastic.

To waste or not to waste: questioning potential health risks of micro‑ and nanoplastics with a focus on their ingestion and potential carcinogenicity

Back in the 1950s, when plastic revolutionized the market, nobody anticipated the other side of the coin, until recently. Over the last few years, several studies have highlighted massively accumulating volumes of small plastic debris and its evident hazardous environmental consequences, calling for further in-depth investigations on the effect of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) on human health in general and on carcinogenesis in particular.

Cameroon plastic country brief

Cameroon is a lower-middle-income country in West Africa bordered by Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. The country is endowed with rich natural resources such as fossil fuel reserves, minerals, high-value species of timber, and agricultural products. Cameroon is a unitary state divided into 10 administrative regions, each with an elected regional council and runs a unitary presidential republic system with a parliament.

Mauritania plastic country brief

Mauritania is a lower-middle-income country in West Africa bordered by Western Sahara/Morocco, Algeria, Mali, and Senegal. Its economy is dominated by agricultural production and extractive industries such as oil, gold, and copper.The country comprises 15 administrative regions and runs a presidential republic system of government.

Nigeria plastic country brief

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and West Africa, with an estimated 201 million inhabitants in 20191 amounting to more than 50 percent of the total population in West Africa. The Nigerian economy, classified as lower middle income, is considered a major emerging market in the context of Africa and globally. The country is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory where its capital, Abuja, is located. Lagos is the most populous coastal city in Africa, with an estimated population of over 24 million residents.

The Gambia plastic country brief

The Gambia is a low-income country in West Africa which, with the exception of the Gulf of Guinea, is bordered by Senegal. The Gambia’s economy is dependent on agriculture and tourism, normally accounting for approximately 33 percent and 20 percent of GDP, respectively. Administratively, The Gambia is divided into five regions, one municipality, and one city (Banjul) and runs a presidential republic system with a parliament.

Guinea plastic country brief

Guinea is a low-income country in West Africa bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Guinea’s mining sector drives the economy of the nation, particularly gold, bauxite, and diamond mining.  The country comprises seven administrative regions and one gouvenorat and runs a presidential republic system with a parliament.

Ghana plastic country brief

Ghana is a lower-middle-income country in West Africa bordered by Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Togo. As the second-largest economy in the Economic Community of West African States, 1 West Africa’s regional body, Ghana’s economy is driven by its three main export commodities—oil, cocoa, and gold. 2 Ghana comprises 16 administrative regions3 and runs a unitary presidential republic system with a parliament.

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The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of The World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries