Focus and Scope

Africa Journal of Health and Environmental Law (AJHEL)

Promoting Health, Protecting the Environment, Advancing Justice and Sustainability in Africa

1. FOCUS

The Africa Journal of Health and Environmental Law (AJHEL) focuses on the interdisciplinary study of health, environmental protection, law, human rights, public policy, governance and sustainable development within African contexts.

The Journal examines the legal, regulatory, institutional and policy frameworks that shape public health, healthcare delivery, environmental protection, climate resilience, natural-resource management, environmental justice and sustainable development across Africa.

AJHEL provides a scholarly platform for academics, legal practitioners, health professionals, environmental experts, researchers, policymakers and development specialists to critically examine emerging challenges and develop evidence-based legal and policy solutions.

Particular emphasis is placed on research that connects law with public health, environmental science, medicine, human rights, governance, economics, social justice and sustainable development.

The Journal welcomes scholarship that not only identifies legal and institutional challenges but also proposes practical approaches to strengthening health systems, protecting ecosystems, advancing environmental justice, safeguarding human rights and promoting sustainable development across Africa.

2. SCOPE

AJHEL welcomes original theoretical, doctrinal, empirical, comparative, interdisciplinary and policy-oriented research addressing, but not limited to, the following areas:

A. Public Health Law and Policy

  • Public health law

  • Public health policy

  • Healthcare regulation

  • Health systems governance

  • Health policy and administration

  • Disease prevention and control

  • Public health emergencies

  • Pandemic preparedness and governance

  • Infectious disease regulation

  • Health emergency legislation

  • International health regulations

  • Health security

  • Public health surveillance

  • Community health governance

B. Medical and Healthcare Law

  • Medical law

  • Healthcare regulation

  • Patient rights

  • Medical negligence and liability

  • Health professional regulation

  • Medical licensing

  • Access to healthcare

  • Healthcare financing and regulation

  • Health insurance law

  • Pharmaceutical regulation

  • Medical devices regulation

  • Digital health and health technologies

  • Telemedicine regulation

  • Health information governance

C. Environmental Law and Regulation

  • Environmental law

  • Environmental regulation

  • Environmental governance

  • Environmental compliance

  • Environmental liability

  • Environmental protection legislation

  • Environmental standards

  • Environmental impact assessment

  • Strategic environmental assessment

  • Pollution control

  • Waste management law

  • Hazardous substances regulation

  • Environmental monitoring and enforcement

D. Environmental Health

  • Environmental determinants of health

  • Air pollution and public health

  • Water pollution and health

  • Chemical exposure

  • Occupational and environmental health

  • Waste and health

  • Climate-related health risks

  • Environmental sanitation

  • Food and environmental safety

  • Public health and environmental contamination

  • Health impacts of environmental degradation

E. Climate Change Law and Policy

  • Climate change law

  • Climate governance

  • Climate adaptation

  • Climate mitigation

  • Climate resilience

  • Climate finance

  • Climate litigation

  • Climate policy

  • Loss and damage

  • Climate-induced displacement

  • Climate-related health impacts

  • Climate justice

  • African climate governance

F. Environmental Justice and Human Rights

  • Environmental justice

  • Right to health

  • Right to a clean, safe and healthy environment

  • Environmental human rights

  • Social justice

  • Health inequalities

  • Environmental discrimination

  • Vulnerable populations

  • Indigenous peoples' rights

  • Community environmental rights

  • Children's environmental rights

  • Women's health and environmental rights

  • Intergenerational justice

G. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

  • Water law

  • Water governance

  • Access to safe drinking water

  • Sanitation regulation

  • Hygiene and public health

  • Water pollution

  • Water-resource management

  • Transboundary water governance

  • Water security

  • Environmental and health dimensions of water management

H. Food, Nutrition and Agricultural Health

  • Food safety law

  • Food regulation

  • Food security

  • Nutrition policy

  • Agricultural regulation

  • Pesticide regulation

  • Food contamination

  • Genetically modified organisms

  • Agricultural environmental impacts

  • Sustainable agriculture

  • Food and public health

I. Pharmaceutical and Medical Products Regulation

  • Pharmaceutical law

  • Drug regulation

  • Medicine safety

  • Access to essential medicines

  • Pharmaceutical licensing

  • Drug quality and counterfeit medicines

  • Medical products regulation

  • Vaccine regulation

  • Vaccine equity

  • Intellectual property and access to medicines

  • Pharmaceutical governance

J. Bioethics and Health Ethics

  • Medical ethics

  • Bioethics

  • Research ethics

  • Informed consent

  • Patient autonomy

  • Confidentiality

  • End-of-life decisions

  • Reproductive health ethics

  • Genetics and genomics

  • Biotechnology regulation

  • Human-subject research

  • Ethical governance of emerging health technologies

K. Environmental Resources and Conservation

  • Natural-resource law

  • Extractive industries

  • Mining and environmental regulation

  • Oil and gas regulation

  • Petroleum-related environmental impacts

  • Biodiversity law

  • Wildlife protection

  • Conservation law

  • Forest governance

  • Marine and coastal environmental law

  • Land-use regulation

  • Ecosystem protection

L. Sustainable Development

  • Sustainable development law

  • Sustainable development governance

  • Sustainable development goals

  • Environmental sustainability

  • Health and sustainable development

  • Sustainable cities

  • Sustainable infrastructure

  • Sustainable resource management

  • Green economy

  • Circular economy

  • Environmental economics and regulation

M. Energy and Environmental Regulation

  • Energy law

  • Renewable energy regulation

  • Energy transition

  • Clean energy policy

  • Energy justice

  • Environmental regulation of energy projects

  • Sustainable energy access

  • Fossil-fuel regulation

  • Energy poverty

  • Climate and energy governance

N. Corporate and Industrial Environmental Responsibility

  • Corporate environmental responsibility

  • Corporate accountability

  • Environmental liability

  • Industrial pollution

  • Environmental compliance

  • Corporate sustainability

  • ESG and environmental governance

  • Corporate human-rights responsibilities

  • Environmental reporting

  • Sustainable business practices

O. Health, Environment and Vulnerable Communities

AJHEL particularly welcomes scholarship concerning the effects of health and environmental challenges on:

  • Children

  • Women

  • Older persons

  • Persons with disabilities

  • Indigenous communities

  • Rural communities

  • Low-income populations

  • Internally displaced persons

  • Refugees

  • Coastal communities

  • Communities affected by extractive industries

P. Indigenous Peoples and Community Rights

  • Indigenous environmental rights

  • Traditional knowledge

  • Community participation

  • Land rights

  • Natural-resource rights

  • Indigenous health

  • Environmental decision-making

  • Community consultation

  • Free, prior and informed consent

  • Indigenous environmental governance

Q. Environmental Governance and Public Participation

  • Environmental governance

  • Public participation

  • Access to environmental information

  • Environmental decision-making

  • Regulatory institutions

  • Environmental enforcement

  • Accountability and transparency

  • Community participation

  • Access to environmental justice

  • Environmental dispute resolution

R. Health and Environmental Litigation

  • Public interest litigation

  • Environmental litigation

  • Climate litigation

  • Health litigation

  • Strategic litigation

  • Human-rights litigation

  • Corporate environmental liability

  • Government liability

  • Judicial approaches to environmental protection

  • Judicial protection of the right to health

S. African Regional and International Frameworks

AJHEL welcomes research examining:

  • African Union legal frameworks

  • African Union health initiatives

  • African environmental frameworks

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

  • African regional human-rights mechanisms

  • Regional economic communities

  • International environmental conventions

  • International health instruments

  • Climate agreements

  • Sustainable development frameworks

  • Comparative African legal systems

  • International approaches relevant to African health and environmental governance

T. Emerging Issues

The Journal also welcomes research on emerging issues such as:

  • Artificial intelligence in healthcare

  • Digital health regulation

  • Health data governance

  • Biotechnology

  • Genomic technologies

  • Climate-related migration

  • Emerging infectious diseases

  • Antimicrobial resistance

  • One Health governance

  • Environmental technology

  • Green technologies

  • Carbon markets

  • Environmental digitalisation

  • Technology and environmental monitoring

  • Emerging health and environmental risks

3. INTERDISCIPLINARY SCOPE

AJHEL actively encourages interdisciplinary research connecting law with:

  • Medicine

  • Public health

  • Environmental science

  • Climate science

  • Epidemiology

  • Biotechnology

  • Political science

  • Economics

  • Sociology

  • Public administration

  • Development studies

  • Human rights

  • Ethics

  • Engineering

  • Technology

  • Geography

Interdisciplinary manuscripts should demonstrate a clear and substantive contribution to health law, environmental law, human rights, governance or sustainable development.

4. GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE

AJHEL has a primary African focus.

The Journal welcomes research concerning individual African countries, sub-regional studies and continent-wide research.

Comparative studies involving African and non-African jurisdictions are also welcome where they provide meaningful insights applicable to African legal, health, environmental or governance challenges.

The Journal recognises that Africa contains diverse legal systems, political institutions, cultures, ecosystems, health systems and socioeconomic conditions. Authors are therefore encouraged to identify the specific national, regional or community context of their research.

5. TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIP WELCOMED

AJHEL welcomes:

  • Original research

  • Doctrinal legal analysis

  • Empirical research

  • Comparative legal studies

  • Case analysis

  • Legislative analysis

  • Policy analysis

  • Theoretical research

  • Conceptual studies

  • Interdisciplinary research

  • Systematic reviews

  • Scholarly reviews

  • Regulatory analysis

  • Critical analyses of emerging developments

6. POLICY AND PRACTICE ORIENTATION

AJHEL encourages scholarship capable of informing:

  • Legislation

  • Public policy

  • Healthcare regulation

  • Environmental regulation

  • Judicial practice

  • Government institutions

  • Public-health systems

  • Environmental governance

  • Corporate practice

  • Community development

  • Sustainable development initiatives

The Journal particularly values research that translates rigorous scholarship into practical, evidence-based recommendations.

7. AFRICAN SCHOLARSHIP AND GLOBAL RELEVANCE

While AJHEL places African experiences at the centre of its mission, the Journal also seeks to contribute to global scholarly debates.

The Review welcomes research that:

  • Presents African perspectives to international audiences;

  • Compares African legal approaches;

  • Examines international frameworks from African perspectives;

  • Identifies lessons that can be adapted to African contexts; and

  • Contributes African evidence to global debates on health, environment, justice and sustainability.

8. OUT-OF-SCOPE SUBMISSIONS

Manuscripts that have no meaningful connection to health, environmental protection, law, human rights, governance or sustainable development may fall outside the scope of AJHEL.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to decline manuscripts that do not make a sufficient contribution to the Journal's stated areas of interest.

9. CORE FOCUS OF AJHEL

At its core, AJHEL examines how law, policy and governance can protect human health, preserve the environment, advance justice and support sustainable development across Africa.

The Journal's central scholarly themes can be summarised as:

Health • Environment • Law • Human Rights • Justice • Governance • Sustainability • African Development

JOURNAL STATEMENT

Africa Journal of Health and Environmental Law (AJHEL) provides a scholarly platform for advancing legal and interdisciplinary knowledge that promotes healthier communities, protected environments, stronger institutions, environmental justice and sustainable development across Africa.

Published by Prime Crest Publishers

Promoting Health, Protecting the Environment, Advancing Justice and Sustainability in Africa.