Wastewater spewing out of a storm drain

Western PhD candidate, Ahmed Abuhussein, is drawing attention to the wastewater problem in Ghana. His research focuses on educating people of the public health problems with wastewater as well as environmental engineering.

“The shift now in the paradigm is not just to treat it, but to recover the nutrients,” Abuhussein said.

Abuhussein is particularly interested in ensuring that this treated water is being used in agriculture. He aims to discover how we can recover the nutrients in the water and reduce the need for important fertilizers from overseas while creating revenue.

He explains that people in Ghana often don’t treat wastewater as a potential danger to their health, but mosquitos attracted to, and the toxins in, the wastewater pose a threat.

Abuhussein explains that he received great support from his PhD supervisor and that Western has an abundance of supportive resources across campus in addition to international development opportunities that most students are not aware of and do not take advantage of.

He highlights the importance of participation in international development programs for your own personal growth and for the benefit of those in developing countries.

“Part of the effort is to reach out and see what we can do given the knowledge, given the experience, given the technical capabilities that we have, and trying to make an impact of a global scale,” Abuhussein said.

Source: TheGazette