The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently posing a significant threat to the world’s public health and social-economic growth. Despite the rigorous international lockdown and quarantine efforts, the rate of COVID-19 infectious cases remains exceptionally high. Notwithstanding, the end route of COVID-19, together with emerging contaminants’ (antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, nanoplastics, pesticide, etc.) occurrence in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), poses a great challenge in wastewater settings. Therefore, this paper seeks to review an inter-disciplinary and technological approach as a roadmap for the water and wastewater settings to help fight COVID-19 and future waves of pandemics. This study explored wastewater–based epidemiology (WBE) potential for detecting SARS-CoV-2 and its metabolites in wastewater settings. Furthermore, the prospects of integrating innovative and robust technologies such as magnetic nanotechnology, advanced oxidation process, biosensors, and membrane bioreactors into the WWTPs to augment the risk of COVID-19’s environmental impacts and improve water quality are discussed. In terms of the diagnostics of COVID-19, potential biosensors such as sample–answer chip-, paper- and nanomaterials-based biosensors are highlighted. In conclusion, sewage treatment systems, together with magnetic biosensor diagnostics and WBE, could be a possible way to keep a surveillance on the outbreak of COVID-19 in communities around the globe, thereby identifying hotspots and curbing the diagnostic costs of testing. Photocatalysis prospects are high to inactivate coronavirus, and therefore a focus on safe nanotechnology and bioengineering should be encouraged.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants and convergence of government effectiveness in African and Asian countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes data from 100 countries in Africa and Asia from 2002 to 2018. The panel-corrected standard error regression is used for the regression analysis, while both beta-convergence and sigma-convergence among the countries are tested.FindingsBoth beta-convergence and sigma-convergence exist among African and Asian countries. Asia performs better than Africa across all indicators except for press freedom, and voice and accountability. Corruption perception index, government size, voice and accountability, regulatory quality and economic wealth have a significant positive effect on government effectiveness. Press freedom negatively impacts on government effectiveness, suggesting that freedom is necessary but not sufficient if there are political actors whose actions undermine freedom. Similarly, the political constraint index, as reflected by checks and balances are necessary but not sufficient to enhance government effectiveness, especially in Asia.Practical implicationsThe results reveal that for press freedom and political checks and balances to enhance government effectiveness, there is a need for a different and holistic approach. The results are relevant for policymakers, public sector practitioners and academics.Originality/valueThis study utilizes a new dataset and is premier in exploring the convergence of government effectiveness among African and Asian countries.

How has sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) experienced the COVID-19 pandemic? This article seeks to examine the challenges faced by a region that was earlier expected to be the epicenter of the pandemic. The study identifies three critical stages that pose challenges for governments and development partners operating in SSA trying to avoid mass infections and the subsequent negative socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. First, the article begins by examining the challenges experienced in restraining the spread of COVID-19 such as the lack of adequate resources and technology to effectively pursue contact tracing, the dilemma of implementing lockdowns, and the impact of fake news. Second, the article looks at the challenges arising from technical and capacity elements of testing, treatment, and the development and access to vaccines. Finally, the study examines the potential obstacles to a smooth post-COVID-19 recovery. The author argues that although some positive actions have been taken by governments in SSA during the pandemic, the challenges that are emerging as a result of the direct and indirect impacts of the disease cannot be overlooked. The authors therefore offer several recommendations that can guide policy responses against pandemics in the short and long-run.

Global plastic waste generation is about 300 million metric tons annually and poses crucial health and environmental problems. Africa is the second most polluted continent in the world, with over 500 shipping containers of waste being imported every month. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report suggests that about 75% of this plastic waste ends up in landfills. However, landfills management is associated with high environmental costs and loss of energy. In addition, landfill leachates end up in water bodies, are very detrimental to human health, and poison marine ecosystems. Therefore, it is imperative to explore eco-friendly techniques to transform plastic waste into valuable products in a sustainable environment. The trade-offs of using plastic waste for road construction and as a component in cementitious composites are discussed. The challenges and benefits of producing liquid fuels from plastic waste are also addressed. The recycling of plastic waste to liquid end-products was found to be a sustainable way of helping the environment with beneficial economic impact.

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The demand for technological and industrial change has become heavily dependent on the availability and use of petroleum products as a source of energy for socio-economic development. Notwithstanding, petroleum and petrochemical products are strongly related to global economic activities, and their extensive distribution, refining processes, and final routes into the environment pose a threat to human health and the ecosystem. Additional global environmental challenges related to the toxicological impact of air, soil, and water pollutants from hydrocarbons are carcinogenic to animals and humans. Therefore, it is practical to introduce biodegradation as a biological catalyst to address the remediation of petroleum-contaminated ecosystems, adverse impacts, the complexity of hydrocarbons, and resistance to biodegradation. This review presents the bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants in water and soil, focusing on petroleum biodegradable microorganisms essential for the biodegradation of petroleum contaminants. Moreover, explore the mineralization and transformation of complex organic and inorganic contaminants into other simpler compounds by biological agents. In addition, physicochemical and biological factors affecting biodegradation mechanisms and enzymatic systems are expanded. Finally, recent studies on bioremediation techniques with economic prospects for petroleum spill remediation are highlighted.

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