Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethical considerations of the short-term and long-term health impacts, costs, and educational value of sustainable development projects

  • Published:
Science and Engineering Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There are over 800 seventh to tenth grade students at the College d’Enseignment Generale (CEG) School in Azové, Benin. Like most children in the developing world, these students lack access to clean water and basic sanitation facilities. These students suffer from parasitic infection and health ailments which could be directly offset with short term aid to supply water and medical aid.

Promoting proper sanitation and providing the technology to implement water and wastewater treatment in the community will decrease childhood and maternal disease and mortality rates in Azové. However, these measures may take several years to implement and will require a significant investment in the infrastructure of the school. Is it ethical to spend $10,000 towards the long-term goals of providing water and sanitation to the students of CEG Azové, compared to spending the same amount on short-term relief efforts?

This paper addresses the ethical dilemma of dealing with immediate medical needs in developing countries while trying to implement sustainable technologies. The views and frustration of students working on the project are discussed, as they realize the monetary and short-term impacts on human health when implementing sustainable technologies. The opportunity costs associated with the education principles of sustainable development were also considered. The anticipated costs and health impacts in the short-term and long-term will be evaluated for a period of 1, 2, 5 and 10 years.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. (2004) The Official Summary of The State of the World’s Children 2004. UNICEF

  2. Pegurri, Elisabetta; Julia A. Fox-Rusby; Walker Damian. (2004) The effects and costs of expanding the coverage of immunization services in developing countries: a systematic literature review. Vaccine 23/12: 1624–1635.

    Google Scholar 

  3. World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund. (2000) Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment, 2000 Report, Geneva and New York.

  4. Republic of Benin: Drinking water Supply and Sanitation Programme Appraisal Report. African Development Fund (1998).

  5. U.S. State Department. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6761.htm (2005).

  6. Boger, Culbreth, Hall, Hardy, Jantzen, Langenhuizen, Olson, Raleigh, Rowden. Recorded interview. April (2005).

  7. Striebig, B., Garrity, D., Raleigh, M., Culbreth, I., Langenhuizen, B., and Olson, C. (2005) “The World Has Not Forgotten Us — Gonzaga.” Video and Student Lecture. Jundt Auditorium. Spokane, WA. Presented February 23rd (2005).

  8. Striebig, B., Rowden, K., Boger, K., Culbreth, I., Hardy, D., Jantzen, T., Langenhuizen, B., Olson, C., and Raleigh, M. (2005) “Pathogen reduction with sustainable and appropriate technology for a secondary school sanitation facility in Azové, Benin: P3 Phase I Final Report And Phase II Proposal” Final report submitted to the US EPA P3 Award: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet.

  9. Striebig, Boger, Culbreth, Hardy, Jantzen, Langenhuizen, Olsen, Raleigh, Rowden. “Pathogen reduction in water and wastewater at a secondary school in Azove, Benin.” Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Development. In Press (2006)

  10. Ban, Katherine, Fox-Rushby, Castillo-Riquelme, Marianela. (2004) “The costs, effects and cost-effectiveness of strategies to increase coverage of routine immunizations in low- and middle-income countries: systematic review of the grey literature. Bulletin of the World Health Organization; Sep2004, Vol. 82 Issue 9, p689, 11p

  11. Brenzel L, Claquin P. (1994) “Immunization programs and their costs.” Social Science & Medicine (August) 39(4): 527–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Fox-Rushby, J.A., Kaddar, Miloud, Levine, R., Brenzel, L. (2004) “The economics of vaccination in low-and middle-income countries.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization; Sep 2004, Vol. 82, Issue 9, p640, 1p.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, Gonzaga University, 99258-0026, Spokane, WA, USA

    Bradley A. Striebig (Assistant Professor), Tyler Jantzen & Katherine Rowden

Authors
  1. Bradley A. Striebig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tyler Jantzen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Katherine Rowden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bradley A. Striebig.

Additional information

Tyler Jantzen and Katherine Rowden are undergraduate students in the Department of Civil Engineering, Gonzaga University.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Striebig, B.A., Jantzen, T. & Rowden, K. Ethical considerations of the short-term and long-term health impacts, costs, and educational value of sustainable development projects. SCI ENG ETHICS 12, 345–354 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-006-0033-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-006-0033-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation