Photo: Alhaji Ibrahim Yusufu, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, with school pupils during the 2023 National Environment Day celebration in Abuja on Thursday.
By Chidiebere Ugwu
Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Environment on Thursday called on all States, and Local Government officials across the country to actively step up their Sanitation and hygiene campaigns as an effective means of controlling and preventing disease transmission.
Alhaji Ibrahim Yusufu, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, who made the call at a ceremony organized in commemoration of the 2023 National Environment Sanitation Day (NESD) in Abuja, also challenged all Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Development partners, Organized private sector, Traditional and Religious leaders to make environmental sanitation campaigns a top priority to curb diseases in the country.
Alhaji Yusufu, noted that the theme of this year’s National Environment Sanitation Day:
“Promoting sustainable waste management for a healthy environment: stop open dumping” could not be more apt and timely considering the critical role sanitation and hygiene play in preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases such as Cholera, Typhoid fever, Lassa Fever, COVID-19 virus, Monkey pox virus among others.
According to the Permanent Secretary, poor sanitation has been identified as being responsible for a significant percentage of preventable communicable diseases particularly in developing countries including Nigeria.
“This year National Environmental Sanitation Day commemoration commenced on Saturday, 8th July 2023 with sensitization and flag-off of cleaning exercise in Kuchigoro Community in FCT where the Chief of the Community encouraged his subjects to imbibe the culture of Environmental Sanitation. The Ministry, FCT and other stakeholders will sustain this community environmental sanitation programme after the commemoration.
“Also, the Ministry in collaboration with Breakthrough Action Nigeria will continue with similar community sanitation, sensitization and cleaning exercise programmes in Benue and Bauchi States. The 36 states and the remaining 6 Area Councils of FCT are also celebrating NESD today.
“Let me at this point use this forum to call on all State Governments, Commissioners of Environment, Local Government Chairmen and Councilors, Environmental Health Officers, NGOs, CBOS, FBOs, Development partners, Organized private sector, Traditional and Religious leaders etc. across the country to actively step up their Sanitation and hygiene campaigns as an effective means of controlling and preventing disease transmission” he said.
In his remarks, Muhammed Yakubu Baba, the Registrar, Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, disclosed that the agency has developed and reinforced the enforcement arm of the Council to ensure proper environmental sanitation compliance.
He regretted that over the years enforcement of sanitation had been weak, stressing that it would not be business as usual going forward with regards to environmental sanitation exercise in the country.
“We have developed the enforcement arm for environmental sanitation” stated Baba.
Also speaking, Charles Ikeah, the Director, Pollution Control and Environmental Health, said that 95 per cent of diseases can be prevented through proper environmental sanitation.
Ikeah therefore urged stakeholders to endeavour to keep their environments clean to ward off diseases especially now that the costs of treatment is on the rise.
