EHSAN MARKS WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DAY~ DRAWS ATTENTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PRINCIPLES

There is the need for members of the public to utilise all environmental health principles related to hygiene and sanitation to reduce public health scourge. These are preventive methods that will reduce morbidity and increase life expectancy and wellbeing of individual members of communities.

The president of President of Environmental Health Scientists Association of Nigeria (EHSAN), Professor Godson Ana made these remarks at an event organised by EHSAN to commemorate World Environmental Health Day.

The event which took place at the Oyo State College of Health Science and Technology had the theme: ‘Environmental Health: A key public health intervention in disease pandemic prevention.’

Professor Ana, who is also the Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, noted that even though the government has failed to provide the necessary infrastructure for proper sanitation to be practised, individuals in the community must learn to adopt hygienic practices for their own good.

The EHSAN president said, “The man on the street is a co-stakeholder to ensuring the sanitary conditions he is. If we are all collectively responsible to our environment, then the disease prevalence morbidities will be reduced. Everybody has a role to play: not defecate indiscriminately, pollute our waters or burn refuse anyhow to pollute the air. We are all responsible to the environment.

“It is unfortunate that our government has not been responsible in providing the basic infrastructure that is supposed to enhance these practices we are talking about, but on the side of the citizen, at least behaviourally let us try our best for our good. We must care for the environment to safeguard our lives first.”

The dean said the event was to “draw government’s attention closer to its evaded responsibilities” towards the environment. 

Also at the event, Mr Elijah Udofia, the South-west zonal director of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), in his remarks said that, “In the past six months as part of NESREA proactive COVID-19 response, the Agency released a comprehensive ‘Guideline for Handling Infectious Waste within the Context of Coronavirus (COVID-19)’. These guidelines have greatly helped to prevent further spread of the virus by promoting safe handling of healthcare wastes from Isolation centres and other healthcare facilities treating coronavirus-related cases.”

He added that through these guidelines, the agency has been able to promote sustainable management of wastes from laboratory cultures and waste from isolation wards. “NESREA has also organised series of nationwide and grassroots public awareness, enlightenment and training sessions for healthcare facilities, teaching hospitals medical doctors, nurses, volunteers, and members of the public on the safe handling of COVID-19-related waste products.”

Mrs Bolanle Ibrahim of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) called for the recruitment of more young people into EHORECON to widen the impact of the council.

World Environmental Health Day is celebrated on September 26 to shed light on the important work of environmental health around the world.

JOHESU TO EMBARK ON NATIONWIDE STRIKE FROM MIDNIGHT SUNDAY

Health workers under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU has declared a nationwide strike over hazard allowance and non-payment of withheld salaries of their members among others.

JOHESU, in a statement on Sunday, has told its members to withdraw services from midnight of Sunday, September 13, 2020, since nothing concrete was achieved at the meeting with the Federal Government.

According to the statement, leaders of various health unions in the sector unanimously reached the decision at the end of their expanded National Executive Council.

“In the light of the above, the meeting of our expanded NEC was held Saturday 12 September 2020. And at the end of the meeting, which was held both physically and virtually, it was unanimously agreed that since nothing concrete was achieved at the said meeting with the Federal Government, that the strike notice is still germane and alive.

“Therefore, the 15-day ultimatum still subsists and with effect from midnight of Sunday, 13th September, 2020 our members shall withdraw their services due to Federal Government’s inability to meet their demands,” the statement added.

The health workers had in a letter dated August, 30th, addressed to the Federal Ministry of Health, FMOH, issued a 15- day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet their demands.

The demands of the aggrieved workers include; the review of the defective implementation of COVID-19 Special Inducement and Hazard Allowance; the payment of all withheld salaries of JOHESU members, including the withheld April and May 2018 salaries; and the adjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) as was done with Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) since 2014.

Others listed in the letter with the reference number HQ/JOHESU/ADM/FMoH/VOL.II/55 are the implementation of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (ADR) Consent judgment and other court judgments as well as the call to address the structural and infrastructural decay in the health sector.