Environmentalists harp on monthly sanitation exercise

Emeka Ibemere
Cleanliness is next to Godliness is an aphorism that most people in Nigeria has not be taken seriously to imbibe in their everyday life. This has been shown in the dwindling national environmental sanitation exercise of recent. The essence of the sanitation programme, introduced by the then military government of Mohammed Buhari (retired) was to protect Nigerian environment. This was as a result of the country’s climatic and ecological variety with its attendant implications on the intensity of human activities, nature and character of waste generated, and environmental sanitation.

However, National Environmental Sanitation Policy was put in place to serve as a veritable instrument for securing quality environment for good health and social well being of present and future generations.

With the Federal government being aware of the important role environmental sanitation plays, in the maintenance of sound public health agreed that a specific policy was required to address the situation. The National Environmental Sanitation Policy as an integral part of the overall National Development Strategy therefore, seek to stimulate, promote and strengthen all Government regulations concerned with: Housing and Urban Development,  Food Security, Water Supply, Sanitation related endemic diseases and illnesses,  Flood and Erosion Control, Drought Control, School Health Services

And Environmental Education. It is against the background of these that, the development of the National Policy was collaboratively done by all Stakeholders in order to promote an accelerated sound Environmental Sanitation in the country. While the National Policy recognises the need to provide technical support and infrastructure necessary to all tiers of Government, it enjoins all Stakeholders to make annual budgetary provisions for implementing relevant programmes on Environmental Sanitation and to disseminate the contents of the National Policy to ensure sustainable environment and poverty reduction.

In 2004, during the inauguration of the stakeholders, former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo stated.

 “I, therefore, commend the National Environmental Sanitation Policy to all Stakeholders, and seek cooperation and unflinching support in its effective implementation, so that it can be translated into practical, useful and measurable benefits to our teeming population”,

Recent report said that over the years, the poor Environmental Sanitation condition has contributed significantly to the high prevalence of communicable diseases in the country. According to the report, most of these diseases, which include, malaria, cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, tuberculosis account for a significant percentage of morbidity and mortality.

“Consequently, despite increased efforts by various successive Governments at improving public health and quality of life, basic health indicators have remained poor since this sanitation related diseases still play a large role in creating ill health and poverty”, the report reads.

The indications are that the consequences of poor environment which is associated with impoverishment and poor standard of living among the populace, have been of great concern to several governments and efforts albeit piecemeal and uncoordinated, have been made at various times/levels to complement the socio-cultural norms of sanitation practices in the communities.

Meanwhile, there has been an increasing national awareness on the need for cautious handling of the Nigerian environment in a sustainable manner.

Therefore, ensuring improved Environmental Sanitation standards has become high on every government in the current democratic dispensation. This is demonstrated in the creation of the Federal Ministry of Environment to address amongst other things, the problems of poor Environmental Sanitation and is expected to engender improved productivity and foster equitable share of the job and joy of national economic development.

Environmentalists have suggested that there cannot be a healthy nation without a healthy environment. They also claimed that an unhealthy population and a degraded environment would thwart progress towards development goals. In Nigeria, there is now a greater understanding of the principal threats to the environment and public health. These are associated with a variety of factors, including those related to poor Environmental Sanitation and the recent activities of the Boko Haram, through detonating of explosives

Reports have indicated that the Environmental Sanitation related diseases aggravate poverty by diminishing productivity and household income. It was also reported that the national cost of lost productivity, reduced educational potential and huge curative health costs which constitute a major drain on the local and national economy. According to stakeholders, a dirty environment with its attendant health consequences, prevailing in most of our cities, can discourage tourists/investors and undermine the economic benefit of tourism to the country.

It is expected that proactive actions should be taken to resolve environmental sanitation problems in order to reduce and avert their adverse health, economic and developmental effects.

It would be recalled that the National Council on Environment at its meetings in Kano and Ilorin in years 2000 and 2003 respectively, reiterated  the need for House - House Sanitary Inspection should be re-introduced to detect nuisances and proffer solutions for their abatement. The House to House Sanitary Inspection (Sanitary Inspection of Premises) is the bedrock of Environmental Sanitation as it covers most of its facets.

Over the years, government’s failure to address the problem of environmental sanitation has been attributed to various factors. Investigations showed that unhealthy socio-cultural practices; poor environmental sanitation education and awareness; low literacy level; bad governance over the years; disregard for the rule of law and other forms of indiscipline are the causes of poor sanitation in Nigeria.

Also observed is the waste management which is at the lowest ebb in most towns and communities. Most parts of the city centres do not benefit from public waste disposal services and therefore, have to bury or burn their waste or dispose it haphazardly. In most cities and semi-urban centres, refuse heaps are left unattended and where the Local Government Authorities do the collection, it is often irregular and sporadic. The recycling of waste is negligible while methods of storage, collection, transportation, compaction and final disposal are very unsatisfactory.

The alarming rate at which heaps of solid waste continue to occupy Nigerian cities, added with the fact that 87% of Nigerians use disposal methods adjudged as insanitary, has not only constituted visual blight and odour nuisance, but also encouraged the breeding of rodents, mosquitoes and other pests of public health importance, with attendant disease outbreaks.

Reports furthermore stated that some of the waste materials are toxic; others are either non-biodegradable or not readily degradable such as “pure water” sachets and polythene shopping bags. Also included are various types of industrial/chemical waste that can contaminate soil and ground water sources if not properly disposed. Other major concern is the generation of waste from health care

It is observed that most of the times,  food meant for sale and human consumption are displayed in open containers, thereby exposing the food to the ever-ready opportunity of contamination by dust, flies, bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms.

In Lagos State and most other cities, illiterate food vendors are not aware of the sound public health advice of routinely washing their hands before handling food and after using the toilet. Most are also not routinely screened for certain serious communicable infections, which can be easily transmitted through contamination of the food they prepare for sale and human consumption. Recent research said the public is totally unaware of the risks that the consumption of contaminated food poses to their health and well-being. The activities of the municipal food vendors contribute significantly to the filthy environment as they discard wastes indiscriminately.

The poor state of food sanitation in the country has been shown to play a significant role in the cause of food borne diseases.

Records from the Federal Ministry of Health showed that every year, about six hundred thousand 600,000 episodes of diarrhoea occur in children under the age of five.

 “Similarly, there have been increasing numbers of cases of food borne diseases over the years. In 1994, there were 3,173; 12,716; and 22,525 cases of Cholera; Food Poisoning and Typhoid/Paratyphoid fevers respectively. In 1998, the cases were 9,254; 32,411 and 68,846 respectively and by 2001, Cholera and Typhoid cases have further increased to 10,294 and 73,949 cases respectively”.

Also, World Health Organization, recent reports said the year 2008 recorded an unprecedented incidence of food borne diseases in the African Region including; anthrax in Zimbabwe; typhoid fever in Uganda; chemical poisoning due to consumption of seed beans and maize in Nigeria and Kenya; cholera from several countries e.g. Mozambique, Nigeria, Congo, Zambia, DRC, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe; pesticide poisoning from cabbage and other vegetables in Senegal; fish mouse in Mauritius; mushroom poisoning in Algeria; Botulism and Hepatitis A in Uganda are on the increase

Markets and abattoirs in Nigeria are the poorest sanitary areas. They are usually built without proper layouts, and where such layouts exist, they have been distorted. Besides, provision of adequate water supply, proper drainage, and waste disposal facilities are lacking. Transportation of animal meat from the abattoirs in passenger vehicles or motorcycles is a common practice in most towns and cities. Contamination can occur during transportation especially while using passenger vehicles. It is also a common practice to see animal meat hawked on the streets of Lagos State and Abuja. These practices expose the animal meat to contaminants such as dust, flies and other pathogens in the environment.

The Environmental Sanitation problems are made more acute by rapid urbanization and uncontrolled population growth, without commensurate expansion in sanitary facilities. Therefore, slums/shanties have emerged in cities’ outer reaches where the water and sanitation problems are more pressing. These slums with poor housing are prominent features in our environment, particularly in cities and large towns due to poor implementation of town planning laws, poor land use control, rapid spatial expansion of settlements and inadequate provision of infrastructure and services. For example, inability to adhere to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) development plan has created the upsurge of slums and shantytowns in the immediate environs of the city.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) launched a community sanitation programme in all the area councils and satellite towns as part of efforts to clean up the FCT.

The programme was established by the then Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide in collaboration with the chairmen of the six area councils.

The minister, who spoke at the flag-off of the sanitation exercise in Kuduru community in Bwari Area Council, said dirty environment, is no longer acceptable in the area councils and the satellite towns.

“We are all going to clean the area councils and satellite towns,” she said. “We are going to work with the chairmen of the six area councils to rid the councils of waste. “We have acquired domestic sanitation equipment for the community sanitation exercise which has been distributed to the councils for a thorough clean-up of the environment after sensitisation would have been carried out,” said Akinjide, who was represented by her Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties, Mrs. Jummai Kwanashie.

The community sanitation programme took off in five communities of Bwari Area Council, namely: Kuduru, Ushafa, Pambara, Kogo and Peyi communities. About 50 members of the sanitation committee were inaugurated by the Minister in Kuduru.

In order to achieve maximum result, the Minister took the sanitation exercise to communities in Gwagwalada Area Council, including Gwako community.

The Chairman of the Bwari Area Council, Hon. Yohanna Ushafa lauded the Minister for the community sanitation programme which, he stated, would engender a clean environment in all communities in the area councils. Ushafa explained that the Bwari Area Council has embarked on a number of programmes to tackle sanitary problems.

“The Department of Environment and Sanitation has also embarked on the clearing of congested drainages across the Council especially in Bwari, Kubwa and Dutse,” he said. “The Council has launched aggressive health education in four major areas of open defecation, lassa fever, measles and trypanosomaisis among others.”

An environmentalist, Mr Irekamba Udochukwu,
lend his view on the need for environmental sanitation exercise and asked residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to comply
with the monthly environmental sanitation, to ensure improved
environmental health.
Udochukwu, the Managing Director of Cass Environmental Technology, an NGO, made the call in a recent report and expressed concern over people’s attitude toward the exercise, adding that proper sanitation was crucial to promoting healthy living.
The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) had earlier said that the monthly sanitation programme was still ongoing in the city, but without the usual movement restriction.
The Acting Director of the Board, Mrs Aishat Adebayo, had said that
the restriction order was lifted because it was believed that
residents of the territory were responsible enough to clean up their
environment.
Reports indicated that some premises, drains, water ways and
refuse dump sites located in the outskirts of the city, lacked
attention.
Udochukwu noted that environmental sanitation was aimed at preventing the outbreak of diseases and thereby enhance the quality of the environment.
“By doing so, living conditions will improve and health problems will decrease. The management of water, solid and industrial wastes as well as pollution and noise control, fall under the umbrella of environmental sanitation”, Udochukwu stated.
“It is very vital for every community in order to live in a green environment. We must operate in more collaborative and sustainable ways by frequently embarking on general cleaning of our houses, homes, communities, towns, cities, states and the country”.
Udochukwu advocated for a strengthened synergy between the government and stakeholders, to ensure that sanitation services were extended to the outskirts and not concentrated only in the city centre.

He also canvassed for the full participation of security agencies in
the exercise, adding that sensitisation programmes were also
important to educate the people on the gains of a clean environment.
Similarly, Mr Paschal Azuchie, a medical practitioner, criticised the
view in certain quarters that environmental health was the sole
responsibility of the government.
“People think it is the duty of the government to do that for them,
forgetting that it is for their own good to keep their environment
clean,’’ Azuchie said.

Also commenting, Mrs Agolu Bosede, a resident of Byazin community in Kubwa noted that the area had suffered from environmental degradation due to the unfriendly activities of people living in the area. Bosede appealed to the government to introduce penalty against occupants of buildings with a dirty environment.

“Government should beam its searchlight in the rural areas and not
only the cities, because that is where there is a greater settlement
of the people. If this strategy is in place, I believe people will have no choice than to always clean their environment as at when due, to avoid penalties,’’ she said.