BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) has strengthened Nigeria's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with the unveiling of national response initiative, meant to cripple diseases traceable to Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions nationwide.
This formed the crux of discuss on Monday at the National Stakeholders’ Engagement on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and the Declaration of a Public Health Emergency on Environmental-Related Diseases.
The National Emergency Response Initiative on Environmental Public Health Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (NERI-EPHIGGE) was designed to strengthen Environmental Health Service (EHS) delivery, promote climate responsive public health interventions and enhance the professional capacity of Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) across the country to mitigate GhG emissions.
Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) Dr Yakubu Baba said that the initiative aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, and National Environmental Regulations.
Funded through a Public Private Partneship (PPP) arrangement, Baba informed that EHCON is fully committed to the implementation of NERI-EPHIGGE.
NDCs
Determined to implement the Paris agreement on climate change, the Federal Government captured emission reduction as a new sector in the updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The then Minister of Environment, Dr Muhammed Mahmood Abubakar submitted the 2021 final report of Nigeria's NDCs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The updated report, which was approved by late President Muhammadu Buhari, replaced the interim NDCs that was submitted in May 2021. It contained a target to reduce Nigeria’s carbon emissions unconditionally by 20 percent and 45 percent conditionally with international support by 2030.
Abubakar stated that the submission made by Nigeria was to fulfill the requirements for competing in the 2021 Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) call for proposal.
The NAMA call for proposal was an opportunity provided by Germany, the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and others, meant to source for funding towards the implementation of climate mitigation plans.
Response Units
Baba listed the key pillars for implementing the framework as establishment of environmental health surveillance & response units, and emissions monitoring and compliance certification.
He said: "Working with the Federal Ministry of Environment, States, and Local Governments, EHCON will operationalise Environmental Health Surveillance and Response Units to monitor emission-related health risks, conduct routine environmental inspections, collect and report real-time data and support emergency environmental health interventions.
"In collaboration with relevant MDAs, EHCON will support the rollout of mandatory emissions testing, environmental health compliance certification, standardised reporting mechanisms for industries and transport operators."
For inter-agency collaboration, EHCON will work hand-in-hand with the Federal Ministry of Environment, NESREA, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Transportation, State Ministries of Environment, and Local Government Environmental Health Departments to fast-track the initiative.
Deployment Of EHPs
Another key initiative is the structured deployment of licensed Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) across all the 774 Local Government Areas and the six Area Councils of the FCT.
Baba hinted that EHCON being a regulatory authority will coordinate the deployment, noting that the practitioners will serve as the frontline agents of environmental health surveillance, compliance monitoring, and community risk communication.
In the area of capacity building for practitioners, EHCON will priortise continuous training and professional development of Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) to equip them with modern environmental surveillance tools, digital data collection systems, advanced risk assessment skills and community engagement strategies.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu said that the military priortised environmental health in all its stations and hospitals.
He added: “Environmental health is taken seriously across all levels of the Nigerian Army medical system, from battalion medical reception stations to brigade and division hospitals."
Represented by Corps Commandant Medical, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Innocent Enwuchula, he stated that given the military’s constant interaction with diverse environments on land, sea, and air, that environmental health is not optional but essential.
The National President of the Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Mr. Akingbehin Samuel enjoined Nigerians to protect the environment by ending harmful practices.
He maintained that safeguarding the environment is a collective responsibility that impacts on public health, national development, and the well-being of unborn generations.
This initiative is expected to reduce the over 70% of environment-related health threats linked to Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions nationwide.
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