NIGERIA LOSES N455bn ANNUALLY TO POOR SANITATION – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund on Monday stated that Nigeria lost $1.3bn (N455bn) annually to poor sanitation.

According to the Chief of WASH in UNICEF, Zaid Jurji, the N455bn annual loss due to poor sanitation, constituted one per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products.

He argued that if Nigeria lost N455bn each year due to lack of sanitation and needed only N95.9bn per year to eliminate open defecation, the economic gains could be about $1.026bn (N359.1bn) each year.

Jurji said the Federal Government would need N234bn for the realisation of open defecation-free Nigeria by 2025.

He stated these in his paper titled ‘Sustainability of the water, sanitation and hygiene programmes and ending open defecation in Nigeria,’ during the opening ceremony of a two-day media dialogue on European Union Niger Delta Water Project.

The event was organised by UNICEF and Child Rights Information Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, supported by EU.

He also said Dass and Warji in Bauchi State and Obaniku in Cross River were the only three local government areas in Nigeria out of the 774 LGAs that had attained the ODF status.

Jurji said, “Nigeria loses $1.3bn annually due to poor sanitation. This constitutes one per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. Open defecation costs Nigeria over $1bn a year, the GDP of Gambia. Losses are due to premature deaths, health-care costs, and reduced time and productivity.

“If Nigeria loses N455bn each year due to the lack of sanitation and needs only N95.9bn per year to eliminate open defecation, the economic gains could be about $1.026bn (N359.1bn) each year.”

Speaking on what should be done to eliminate open defecation, the UNICEF chief said it required estimated total investment of N959bn, including household costs of N725bn and government cost of N234bn.

He said, “N234bn is needed for the realisation of ODF Nigeria by 2025. Sanitation needs to be prioritised on the federal and state governments’ agenda and declared a state of emergency. The government should initiate bills/laws to promote sanitation and take urgent action to implement open defecation roadmap.

“Separate budget line for sanitation and ODF campaign must be allocated by state and federal governments. The government, legislators, civil societies, and community leaders must ensure the timely release, efficient targeting and transparent/accountable spending of sanitation budgets.”

BOKO HARAM KILLS ABDUCTED RED CROSS HEALTH WORKER/MIDWIFE IN BORNO STATE.

Boko Haram terrorists have killed one of the health workers kidnapped from Kala-Balge, Borno State.

Saifura Khorsa, a 25-year-old midwife with the International Committee of Red Cross was kidnapped along with two other health workers in Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State in March this year.

In a statement signed by the spokesman for the ICRC, Aleksandra Mosimann, on Monday, the organisation described the action as sad and called for the immediate release of the two others still in captivity.

The statement read, “The International Committee of the Red Cross condemns in the strongest terms the tragic killing of its abducted colleague Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa.

“It is appealing to the armed group to immediately release a second ICRC midwife and another health-care worker taken in North-Eastern Nigeria in March.”

The statement quoted Eloi Fillion, the head of the ICRC delegation in Abuja, describing the murder as devastating.

Fillion said, “Saifura moved to Rann to selflessly help those in need. Our thoughts are with her family and other loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.

“At the time of their abduction, Saifura, as well as our colleague Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha, a nurse working in a UNICEF-supported centre, were providing essential antenatal care to communities in Rann, whose population has more than doubled after an influx of people fleeing the violence.

“We urge those still holding our colleague Hauwa and Alice to release these women. Like Saifura, they are not part of the fight. They are a midwife and a nurse. They are daughters, a wife, and a mother – women with families that depend on them.

“Their families and friends miss them dearly and will not give up the hope of seeing them again soon. There is no ideology or religious law that could justify doing any harm to them."

KADUNA COMMUNITY FETCHES WATER FROM 1,829-METRES-HIGH SPRING

The Unguwan Jacob Boyi, Nok community of Jaba Local Government Area, Kaduna State, says their only source of water for ages was a spring at the top of 1,829-metres-high rock above sea level.

The residents told the News Agency of Nigeria at Nok on Monday that the community has an estimated population of 2,600 residents.

A NAN correspondent visited the community of the famous Nok civilisation to assess the impact of Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria, Phase II Project.

One of the community leaders, Mr Dan Tasha, explained that residents call the source of the water “Dzyek’’ (water from the ground in the local language), while the rock is called Sang Boyi.

Tasha explained that the community was situated on a rocky ground, which made digging of wells impossible, thereby forcing people to rely on the water from the rock for drinking, cooking and other domestic uses.

One of the residents, 25-year-old Mary Yangs, said it takes about an hour to climb up and down the rock, adding that one has to climb five to seven times to get enough water for the family.

Yangs said that the task was very difficult and risky, particularly when climbing down with water on one’s head because of the slope.

“Women and young girls fall down on several occasions with water on their heads while trying to descend the sloppy rock.

“Because of the difficulty in coming down, only adults, predominantly women and young girls, undertake the herculean task of fetching water for their families.

“I grew up seeing how my people suffered trying to get water and I joined in the suffering when I turned 14.

“Life is very difficult for everyone in the community, particularly children and young persons while growing up, because of the difficulty in accessing water, not even clean water, just water,” she said.

She, however, said that their story had changed two years ago, when a motorised solar-powered borehole was built for the community by UNICEF, DFID and the Kaduna State Government under the SHAWN project.

“The borehole has changed our lives in a way you would never imagine. Now we have access to clean water any time of the day and with ease. We remained grateful to UNICEF and her partners for coming to our rescue,” she added.

Another woman, Mrs Christiana Joshua, said she got married into the community 30 years ago, stressing that until two years ago, the rock is the only source of water, particularly during rainy season.

“During raining season, we collect rainwater or fetched from a pond at the base of the rock, but during dry season, the pond gets dry and when that happens, we fall back to the rock for our water needs.

“Sometimes we spend the whole day on the rock waiting for our turn because of the long queue, as all roads in the entire Nok community leads to the rock for water during dry season.

“Sometimes we spent the night on the rock so we could get water in the early morning hours.

“It was so bad for us all. In fact, I began labour for my first child on top of the rock trying to get water after waiting on the queue for eight long hours,” Joshua said.

She added that there are times when women could not cook, because they are up the rock struggling to get water.

“But all the years of suffering has ended. The motorised borehole has changed our lives in significant ways that words could not describe,’’ she said.

Similarly, Mrs Victoria Markus, a mother of five, equally described her experience as a horrible one, saying “while descending with water there is a particular spot that we all had to sit and crawl on our buttocks to avoid falling.

“You can imagine that, and with water on our heads. It was such a terrible experience, but thanks to UNICEF the situation has changed and our lives had been upgraded with access to clean water at any time of the day,” Markus said.

But while the people of Unguwan Jacob Boyi in Nok climbed rock to get water, those of Unguwan Bello, also in Jaba local government area, was a two kilometres walk to a river to fetch water for consumption and other family needs.

Ms Christiana Luka, a 17-year-old secondary school girl in the community, said she goes to the river as early as 6am to fetch water and usually go there five times before getting enough for the family to use in the morning.

“We became habitual late comers because of the distance and after returning from school, we will go again several times before resting.

“This was our circle of life until in 2017 when UNICEF built a hand borehole for our community and ended our years of suffering,” Luka said.

Mrs Pricilla Solomon, a housewife, equally noted the difficulty of getting water from the river, which she said put the community at risk of snake bite because of thick bushes along the way.

“We encountered snakes on several occasions on our way to the river and had to turn back. Sometimes, we fell with water on our heads due to the slippery nature of the road.

“We really thank UNICEF, DFID and Kaduna State Government for bringing clean water right to our door step and ending our suffering,” she said.

SHAWN II project is aimed at improving access to sanitation, hygiene and water supply to all citizens through eradication of open defecation, handwashing promotion, sanitation and provision of water facility.

It is being funded by United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and UNICEF with counterpart funding from the state governments of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Benue, Bauchi and Jigawa.

(NAN)

HOW TO TEST HIV/AIDS WITH URINE

Urine sample

Usually, antibodies are detected in the blood when a person is HIV positive and vice versa to HIV negative people. 

These antibodies are usually detected in blood samples and sometimes saliva through oral swab. Apart from the aforementioned body fluids, it has been found that you can test the virus with your urine. 

It might sound bizarre, however according to a report (hivinsite), urine can as well be used in identifying antibodies. 

In this case, we will use ELISA test to detect the antibodies. For the ELISA test, the urine sample will be sent to a laboratory for analysis. A lab technician will add the sample to a device that contains HIV antigen and anti-HIV antibodies. 

Alternatively, you can resort to perform the test at home by simply following the principles. Gather some urine in a bowl. 

Transfer the some urine sample in a petri dish containing the specific antigen. If your blood contains antibodies to the antigen, the two will bind together. You will note this by a signal amplification whereby there will be a brighter color on the background

It normally take a couple of hours to detect the antibodies. However, the Western blot will be employed to confirm positive results from an ELISA test. Basically, it is usually used as confirmatory test.

Positive results in this case mean; if the antibodies are detected, then you are HIV positive. Whereas if the antibodies are not detected, then you are in a stable condition, HIV negative.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TAKE MEDICINES ON AN EMPTY STOMACH?

DAILY HEALTH TIP:

Taking medicines on an empty stomach means that you should take your pills 2 hours before you eat or 2 hours after you eat.

Two examples:

Eat first and take the pills 2 hours later. If you eat breakfast at 8 a.m., wait until 10 a.m. to take your pills.

Or take the pills first and eat 2 hours later. If you take your pills at 8:00 a.m., wait until 10 a.m. to eat.

In both cases, your stomach will be empty enough for the pills to work.

UNICEF TO SCALE UP EBOLA RESPONSE IN DR CONGO

The UN Children’s Fund on Friday said that it will open a new Ebola-response front in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

WHO said that it would provide support to thousands of people, including children, following the recent confirmation of new Ebola cases there.

In a latest development, the DR Congo authority said that five more Ebola cases were confirmed, including two from the urban commercial hub of Butembo in North Kivu province, one of which involved a health worker from a clinic where the city’s first case had been treated.

Butembo is North Kivu province’s second-largest city, with a population of nearly 1 million, and has so far four confirmed cases.

Earlier cases include a patient who fled from the Beni outbreak hotspot and a man who fled from Ituri province and whose illness was diagnosed retroactively in Butembo based on a semen sample.

“So there is a real risk the virus could spread quickly in such a large population centre.

“The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Butembo remains limited, but we have to ensure that everything is being done now to ensure that the outbreak is controlled at this early stage,’’ said Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano, UNICEF representative in the country.

UNICEF said its expanding Ebola response and deploying to Butembo a team of 11 specialists in community communication, education, psycho-social assistance, and water, sanitation and hygiene, to help contain the disease and avoid any further spread of the epidemic.

So far UNICEF, together with partners, has already trained 35 psycho-social workers to assist families and children affected by the disease, broadcast programmes on nine community radios and sensitised 36 journalists on prevention measures.

The UN agency has even sent anthropologists to ensure the response in the DR Congo is sensitive to cultural believes and practices, particularly around caring for sick and diseased individuals, and addressing populations’ concerns about secure and dignified burials.

VACANCY: NATIONAL CONSULTANT (PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICER)

National Consultant (Public and Environmental Health Officer): Click the link provided to see the complete job description.

FLOODING: EDO INTENSIFIES WORK AT RESETTLEMENT CAMPS, SAFE HAVENS

The Edo State Government has said that work has intensified at designated resettlement camps across the state to receive residents, who are displaced by flooding.

Persistent rainfall in the past few weeks dislodged some persons from their homes, as the state government announced the opening of resettlement camps for residents that were adversely affected by the heavy downpours.

The state government issued flood alert in parts of the state last week, following new predictions that the state will experience flooding incidence with the persistent rainfall and the release of water from dams in neighbouring countries.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Mr Yakubu Gowon, said that an inter-ministerial committee to oversee the relocation of affected persons and running of the resettlement camps and safe havens has been set up.

He disclosed that the committee is made up of officials of the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), special assistants to the governor in the various wards, officials of ministries of infrastructure, environment and health, local council chairmen, members of the Red Cross, Fire Service and local government councillors, who are on standby to assist people in distress.

He listed the areas earmarked as safe havens to include “the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp in Oghomere in Etsako Central Local Government Area and the skills acquisition centre in Fugar.

“In Esan South East Local Government Area, the council hall and the hall of St Benedict Catholic Church in Ubiaja will serve as safe haven.  In Ikpoba-Okha local council, Western Boys High School hall has been pencilled down to receive those displaced from their homes in the council area,” he added.

He said that men and women will be separated in the camps to protect their rights and assured that effort is being made to procure more relief materials to be delivered when the camps are ready.

“In Ovia North East, the local government chairman has donated a place in Okada while another place in Gelegele, in the same local council will provide succour to flood victims,” Gowon said.

The governor’s aide maintained that the relevant ministries have desilted blocked drainages to ease the flow of water in the city.

Two weeks ago, Edo State government donated relief materials to communities affected by windstorm in Esan West and Owan West local government areas of the state. Similar donation had been made in ten local councils where windstorm destroyed houses.

Handing over the relief materials on behalf of the state government to chairmen of the two local councils in Benin City, the state capital, Gowon said “This is a continuous exercise, we have donated relief materials to communities in about 12 local government areas and we have been receiving letters of appreciation from the beneficiaries.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Hydrological Services Agencies (NHISA) have warned that 12 states across the country would experience flooding due to torrential rain falls.

The two agencies gave the warning during an emergency stakeholders’ meeting held with relevant stakeholders in Abuja.

Mr Clem Nze, Director, Engineering Hydrology, NHISA, listed the states to include: Kogi, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Edo, Anambra, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states, from the River Niger axis.

He also listed Taraba, Benue and Adamawa as states to be affected from the River Benue axis.

He said that the decision to raise the alarm was to ensure preparedness among stakeholders and residents of flood-prone communities.

The NEMA and NHISA alert followed a similar alert issued by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMeT), warning of high floods in some identified states across the country including Edo.

LASG WARNS AGAINST USE OF ASBESTOS IN HOMES, SAYS IT IS CARCINOGENIC

 

The Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Prince Gbolahan Lawal has alerted the public against the use of asbestos as ceiling in homes, saying it could cause cancer.

“Few years ago, Lagos State Government stopped the use of asbestos for ceiling because of its carcinogenic effect; we now use PVCs (plastic) in our estates and buildings.

“Asbestos ceilings are carcinogenic, it causes cancer and if you have it in your house you should try and change it,’’ he  told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.

Lawal called for mass enlightenment on the use of asbestos in public and private buildings.

NAN reports that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an intergovernmental agency and a part of the World Health Organization with its headquarters in Lyon, France, classifies asbestos as “carcinogenic to humans,’’ based on its ability to cause mesothelioma and cancers of the lung, larynx (voice box) and ovaries.

Lawal said the state government was exploring other alternatives and innovations that would allow for the use of cheaper available local raw materials to bring down the cost of houses.

On the Green Building Initiative, the commissioner disclosed that the state was partnering with Echostone, an international eco-friendly construction firm, to develop its affordable homes initiative.

He explained that the method ensured that a 40 per cent of carbon footprints were reduced in line with global climatic change initiatives.

According to Lawal, the partnership also ensured adoption of the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) programme that helps developers reduce their buildings’ energy and water consumption by 20 per cent while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The commissioner added that the state had also adopted eco-friendly water and sewage management system to improve the health and quality of lives of residents.

Lawal said carbon emissions would be reduced if building designs are targeted at proper ventilation and illumination as well as green areas for houses.

This, he noted, would reduce the use of generators and reliance on electricity to illuminate such houses during the day or hot weather.

“Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration is also in partnership with a German government institute (GZI) as well as the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing on how to reduce water and energy consumption in our estates to achieve energy efficiency in the buildings.

“We are collaborating with all the regulatory agencies on green building because it is cheaper and it help to create more jobs,’’ he said. (NAN)

NOISE MEASUREMENT: WHAT IS Leq (EQUIVALENT CONTINUOUS SOUND LEVEL) IN SOUND MEASUREMENT / NOISE CONTROL

Sound level meter

For anyone that is measuring sound, you’ve probably come across the term L_eq or Equivalent Continuous Sound Level. But what is it and how can it help us when measuring noise with a sound level meter?

Imagine you are in a busy construction site that is operating all day. You have diggers, cranes, trucks and other plant machinery all working intermittently and creating noise. You also have the workforce using jackhammers, pile drivers, drills and other power tools.

The problem here is that the sound level is never going to be consistent. So, how would you go about describing the sound level over an 8 hour working day with so many variations? That’s where the L_eq Equivalent Continuous Sound Level comes in.

What is L_eq (Equivalent Continuous Sound Level)?

Put simply, the L_eq is the average sound pressure level during a period of time. L_eq is often described as the average noise level during a noise measurement, which although not technically correct, is often the easiest way to think of L_eq.

If the noise is varying quickly, the average energy over a period of time is a very useful measurement parameter. It is for this reason that L_eq is often called the equivalent continuous level.

CALCULATING L_eq

The problem with manually calculating L_eq is that decibels (dB) are based on logarithmic scales. If you have a machine producing 80 dB, a doubling of the noise level would not be 160 dB. It would be 3 dB. Sound confusing? Blame the logarithmic scale.

The good news is that there is actually nothing for you to do. Your sound level meter will automatically calculate the equivalent continuous sound level during and after your measurement has finished. Your sound level meter will sample the noise level 16 times a second. It then converts the dB readings back into sound pressure levels, adds them up, divides by the number of samples and returns the L_eq back in the dB form. All of this happens on an almost instantaneous basis. Imagine trying to crunch those numbers yourself.

Using L_eq for Your Measurements

Now you have the equivalent continuous sound level, what can you actually do with it?

L_eq is now used by most countries as the metric of choice for measuring the exposure of workers to noise, as there is no time constant and it correlates reasonably well to the effect of hearing damage risk.

To help assess the risk of hearing damage, it is normal to measure the L_eq using the A Frequency Weighting. This sets the sound level meter to mimic the performance of the human ear when it comes to detecting audible frequencies. When the frequency weighting is applied, you would present your readings as L_Aeq or L_eq dBA. 

L_Aeq is one of the key parameters specified in UK & EU Noise at Work Regulations. You need L_Aeq to determine the L_EP,d, which is the daily noise exposure level over a 8-hour working day. You will also need the L_Cpeak measurement, which is the peak sound level achieved using the C Frequency Weighting.

L_eq is also an essential parameter for environmental noise monitoring, especially for planning applications to assess the likelihood of complaints.

L_eq and the Sound Level Meter


The sound levelmeter calculates all of the parameters you need.

The Sound level meter for occupational noise measures all noise parameters simultaneously to give you the L_eq, L_Aeq, L_CPeak and much more. There is no chance of missing any data when taking a measurement. The readings will display on the large OLED screen, so you can instantly see if there are noise problems that need further investigation.

Once you have measured all of these parameters, you can assess the risks posed by excessive noise levels. All you will need to do is download the measurements into the NoiseTools software, which is included with the Optimus, and automatically generate reports for the L_EP,d and more

Standard contents of the sound measurement kits:

These are supplied in the a carrying case which has been designed to fit the sound level meters along with the accessories.

The measurement kits contain the following accessories:

•  CR:514 Class 2 Acoustic Calibrator (Class 2 Versions) or

•  CR:515 Class 1 Acoustic Calibrator (Class 1 Versions)UA:237 90mm

•  Windshield CK:280 Carrying Case
User Manual & Certificates of Calibration

•  USB Data/Power Cable & Windshield

•  NoiseTools Software CD (Requires Data Logging Version to download measurements) Credit: The Noise Doctor