EHORECON Moves To Reintroduce Rebranded Sanitary Inspectors

EHORECON Moves To Reintroduce Rebranded Sanitary Inspectors 

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Okeke

 L–R: Representative, Association of Provosts, Colleges of Health Science and Technology of Nigeria, Comrade Nuhu Solomon Anyegwu receiving the Academic Curricula on National Diploma in Public Health Technology and National Diploma in Epidemology and Disease Control from Minister of Environment, Dr Muhammad Mahmood Abubakar; while Deputy Director of Health Programmes, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) Kaduna, Yusuf Bello Yakubu; Registrar of Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) Dr Yakubu Baba; National Consultant, Public Health and Environment, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Edwin Isotu Edeh and others watch with keen interest at the maiden National Summit on Environmental Health in Abuja over the weekend. PHOTO BY CHIKA OKEKE. 

Worried by the outbreak of communicable diseases especially at the grassroots, the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) has concluded arrangements to reintroduce rebranded sanitary inspectors. 

The Registrar of EHORECON, Dr Yakubu Baba stated this in Abuja over the weekend at the 1st National Summit on Environmental Health, organised by the Council with the theme, "Rebranding Environmental Health Practice: Breaking Barriers, Unlocking Opportunities". 

He said that environmental health sector has the capacity to lift 10, 000 youths out of unemployment in areas such as cleaning, fumigation and among others, adding that the summit would map-out policies, guidelines and regulations that would strengthen environmental health services in Nigeria. 

 Baba stated that the academic curricula –National Diploma in Public Health Technology and National Diploma in Epidemology and Disease Control–were developed in collaboration with National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). 

He said that interface and integration between relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would provide a lasting solution to Nigeria's health system problems. 

The registrar said the council is committed to strengthening environmental health officers to address emerging diseases like COVID-19 and its variants, adding that the recurrence of cholera outbreak in Nigeria is an indication that environmental health was not placed in its rightful position by the colonial masters. 

He stated that the environmental workforce participated actively in providing non-pharmaceutical containment measures such as disinfection and decontamination, and introducing hygiene measures in the communities like social distancing, hand washing and use of facemasks.

Declaring the summit open, Minister of Environment, Dr Muhammad Mahmood Abubakar said the event was timely as Nigeria and the global community  grapple with COVID-19 and other infectious diseases like cholera, lassa fever, malaria, hepatitis and enteric fevers. 

He stated that the federal government took several health, social and economic steps to contain the pandemic by unveiling Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) for job creation, and growth of new and existing businesses. 

Abubakar added that the development and utilisation of local content would reduce dependence on foreign goods and stimulate growth especially in the private sector. 

Also speaking, National Consultant, Public Health and Environment, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Edwin Isotu Edeh said that non-environmental risks including climate change and air pollution constituted one quarter of deaths and disease burden globally, which is about 13 million deaths annually, even as air pollution causes seven million deaths globally. 

In Nigeria, Edeh attributed 29 percent of national diseases burden to risk factors from the environment, saying that 58 percent of the population has access to portable drinking water while 46 million people still practise open defecation. 

According to him, "Healthy environment is vital to human health and development. From stable climate to clean air, to safe water; sanitation and hygiene, preserved use of chemicals to healthy cities and ensuring a well protected ecosystems and other environmental determinants that constitute environmental health are critical to achieving human health". 

On his part, Vice chancellor of Bauchi State University, Prof Uba Auwalu said the summit was a product of over two to three years of intensive planning, noting that the era of getting trained and waiting for government's employment is over. 

He assured that Bauchi State University is ready to commence courses on the training and retraining of Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) in the next academic session. 

Also, a representative from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Nneka Onwu said the agency is in the process of rolling out the second phase of COVID-19 jab by Moderna. 

She stated that NPHCDA has been at the forefront in the fight against COVID-19 that affected every aspect of human endeavours, just as she added that environmental and climate factors helped to shape the landscape which the pandemic proliferated around the world. 

In his presentation, Dean, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Prof Nkwa Amadi listed some challenges faced by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) due to government bureaucracies as poor funding and budgetary allocation to Environmental Health (EH) services and programmes, as well as weak government policies and legislation. 

Speaking on,  "Environmental Health Services in the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases", the don added that lack of political will and commitment by government towards the promotion of EH services and programmes were also part of the problems. 

Also, "Lack of infrastructures for the management of environmental health and sanitation services and programmes including laboratories for sampling, analysis of environmental media of air, water, soil, food and among others", he said.

The minister was later conferred as a Fellow, West African Post Graduate College of Environmental Health (WAPCEH).

In his acceptance speech, he promised to advance the profession to the highest level while harping on the need for professionals and Nigerians to protect the environment.