By Sani Garba Mohammed, January 22, 2008
Environmental Health remains at the periphery of sustainable development, because it is inadequately defined, rarely quantified, and institutionally fragmented. Failing to address environmental health amplifies the burden of diseases, which impinges on Sub-Saharan Africa's overall economic performance and well being of the population especially the poor.
---James A Listorti et al
My attention has been drawn by the above comment in the Weekly Trust of Jan, 19, 2008 where the writer, S. B Mohd is asking "Where has Dubagari gone?" Dubagari has gone no where; they are so much around and are not visible as before due to many factors as we shall see in the course of reading.
The profession [environmental Health] of 'Dubagari' [in Hausa], 'Wole-Wole' [in Yoruba] and 'Nwaole-ala' [in Igbo] has been neglected immediately the British rule ended in Nigeria. During colonial rulers, environmental health is of great importance, in fact, the position of sanitary officer was a very top position then, which was why the Senior Municipal Sanitary officer was made a member of the legislative council on the amalgamation of northern and southern protectorate in 1913.
In Nigeria, Dubagari is first known as sanitary attendant in the 1915s to Sanitary inspectors of 1930s, to Health Superintendents of 1970s, and Environmental Health Officers in 1988 in line with the international recognized and accepted name for the practitioners.
"To a greater extent" said Aniefiok Moses, Journal of Environmental Health June 2006, "the development of environmental health in Nigeria has been retarded due to the dominant influence of the medical profession, which assumed superiority and erroneously annexed everything health into medical practice. Again unlike in other countries where people other than physicians initiated some environmental health services, in Nigeria, an Environmental health service was initiated by a physician.
This strange marriage existed for so long that it was near impossible to established or convince any one that Environmental health was a profession. Whereas, WHO has recognized Environmental Health as a profession, it was totally impossible to say so among policy makers in the health sector in Nigeria, more so, even in Britain, where the development of Environmental Health started in 1877, it was not recognized and regarded as profession until 1956.
Notwithstanding that 70% of Nigeria's health problems are environmental health related, effort directed at improving environmental health services are challenges by structural and political problems [like weak governmental policy and legislation, high level of ignorance, poor political will and commitment, poor funding, etc]; environmental and technological problems [like poor training and human resources development]; and attitudinal and psychological problems.
Structurally, the Nigerian national health policy is skewed in favour of curative health services. "Although the health policy" said Aniefiok Moses, Journal of Environmental Health, June 2006 "emphasized primary health care as its corner stone, budgetary provision has been deliberately made to strengthen and sustain expensive medical care at the expense of preventive health services at the ratio of 5:1". Even the former president Obasanjo was quoted at the launching of national environmental sanitation policy and programme 2005 as saying, "The huge cost of decadent environmental sanitation to the nation cannot be over emphasized. Apart from huge curative health costs, which constitute a major drain on local and national resources, there is massive loss in human capital due to high mortality and morbidity rates, decreasing productivity, as well as impoverishment and poor living standards. In addition, a dirty environment with its attendant's health consequences prevailing in our towns and cities, can discourage tourist and investors".
Technologically, the environment which the environmental health practitioners operate is hostile, beside inadequate basic infrastructure like good roads, clean water supply and other amenities that supposes to facilitate environmental health services; people's awareness about environmental health matters is still abysmally low. It is still very difficult to show the relationship between environmental health factors like filth, heat poor ventilation, poor food hygiene practice etc and the health of the community. With such low awareness, it is sometime very difficult to prescribe any form of strategy to abate environmental nuisances that impact negatively on public health.
Attitudinally and psychologically, environmental health practice and services are both human focused, as such, it is one of the most difficult profession to practice, for it deals with people's behaviours, perception, attitude and other people develop resistance to, for instance, housing inspection, because it involves 'probing' into people's privacy and challenging their way of life [Aniefiok Moses, Journal of Environmental Health, June 2006].
On the other hand the media is not playing its role efficiently toward environmental health issues, but always sided with medical practitioners whom are not environmental health practitioners in discussing issues of environmental health. Most of Nigeria's health problems that are environmentally related rarely do media consult environmental health practitioners, but only doctors who assumed and dictate whatever they like from the perspective of their practice, this greatly damage the status of the practitioners as if they do not exist, notwithstanding their relegation in the Nigerian health sector policy makers.
The practitioners also rarely writes in the national dailies contributing their quota toward their profession and their position in the health sector reform and others, until with the coming of the Journal of Environmental Health, published by the Society for Environmental Health Officers of Nigeria.
At the local government level where environmental health services lie most, there is intra fighting between Community Health Officers [CHO] and Environmental Health Officers [EHO] over who shall manage Primary Health Care [a subject of another day] department and what is the priority health needs, where by the former see himself as the alpha and omega of primary health care, which in the long run, it is the public that suffer. Similar to this had happens recently in the state ministry of health, Kano, between environmental health officers and other health workers, read these written by this writer, 'Environmental Health and health Ministry, New Nigerian Newspapers, Jan 7, 2006, and Daily Triumph, February 13, 2006.
These and many more contributed towards further endangering environmental health services by government emphasis to only medical health services, thus giving room for un coordinate environmental health services with the attendant indiscriminate dumping of waste, poor handling of food, unmonitored water quality, poor housing and urban planning, high prevalence of environmentally controllable diseases.
Not withstanding the role environmental health officers played pre-independence and post independence in shaping Nigeria's health sector, read 'An History of Environmental in Nigeria', Daily Trust, January 14, 2005, and the work of Environmental health Officer in Weekly Trust, August 5-11, 2006, Young Trusters column written by this writer, environmental health remained unregulated in Nigeria until 2002, when the then government of Olusegun Obasanjo through the effort of Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria, under Abiodun Bamigboye pursue registration of environmental health as a profession to its logical conclusion [a move that was started since 70s], via the enactment of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria [EHORCN] act No 11 of 2002.
The act charge the council with the regulation of environmental health practice through a] determining what standard of knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the profession of environmental health and improving those standards from time to time; b] securing in accordance with the provisions of the act for the establishment and maintenance of register………..'; c] conducting examination in the profession and awarding certificates or diplomas to successful candidates as appropriate…..'; and d] performing the other functions conferred on the council by the act.
The council was inaugurated in March 2004 by the then federal minister of environment-Col [rtd] Bala Mande, since then, the council has been engrossed in carrying out its task by liaising with the relevant authorities in making the profession a better and to the standard, considering its total neglect for over four decades.
The hosting of the first 'Stakeholders conference on Environmental Health practice' in April 2006, was the first in the right direction, where over 2000 members of the profession were inducted, pursuing the enactment of National Environmental Health Regulations 2007, making sure the National Policy on Environmental Sanitation 2005 see the light of the day, conducting of Mandatory Continuing Education Programme, consultation with some universities for the possible start of a degree programme in Environmental health and many more, read 'Environmental Health in Nigeria', Daily Triumph, February 19, 2007, by this writer.
These and many more cannot be done in one fell swoop, nevertheless, with the able leadership of the president of the council, His excellency Alhaji Mohd Danyaya, the Emir of Ningi, The indefatigable Registrar, Mr Austine Ebisike, the representative of North West, Alhaji Ibrahim Malami, Aniefiok Moses and the rest, Dubagari would be re-launch more than ever in the history of Nigeria. Join them this year for the launching of the new uniform of their professional work.
Environmental Health remains at the periphery of sustainable development, because it is inadequately defined, rarely quantified, and institutionally fragmented. Failing to address environmental health amplifies the burden of diseases, which impinges on Sub-Saharan Africa's overall economic performance and well being of the population especially the poor.
---James A Listorti et al
My attention has been drawn by the above comment in the Weekly Trust of Jan, 19, 2008 where the writer, S. B Mohd is asking "Where has Dubagari gone?" Dubagari has gone no where; they are so much around and are not visible as before due to many factors as we shall see in the course of reading.
The profession [environmental Health] of 'Dubagari' [in Hausa], 'Wole-Wole' [in Yoruba] and 'Nwaole-ala' [in Igbo] has been neglected immediately the British rule ended in Nigeria. During colonial rulers, environmental health is of great importance, in fact, the position of sanitary officer was a very top position then, which was why the Senior Municipal Sanitary officer was made a member of the legislative council on the amalgamation of northern and southern protectorate in 1913.
In Nigeria, Dubagari is first known as sanitary attendant in the 1915s to Sanitary inspectors of 1930s, to Health Superintendents of 1970s, and Environmental Health Officers in 1988 in line with the international recognized and accepted name for the practitioners.
"To a greater extent" said Aniefiok Moses, Journal of Environmental Health June 2006, "the development of environmental health in Nigeria has been retarded due to the dominant influence of the medical profession, which assumed superiority and erroneously annexed everything health into medical practice. Again unlike in other countries where people other than physicians initiated some environmental health services, in Nigeria, an Environmental health service was initiated by a physician.
This strange marriage existed for so long that it was near impossible to established or convince any one that Environmental health was a profession. Whereas, WHO has recognized Environmental Health as a profession, it was totally impossible to say so among policy makers in the health sector in Nigeria, more so, even in Britain, where the development of Environmental Health started in 1877, it was not recognized and regarded as profession until 1956.
Notwithstanding that 70% of Nigeria's health problems are environmental health related, effort directed at improving environmental health services are challenges by structural and political problems [like weak governmental policy and legislation, high level of ignorance, poor political will and commitment, poor funding, etc]; environmental and technological problems [like poor training and human resources development]; and attitudinal and psychological problems.
Structurally, the Nigerian national health policy is skewed in favour of curative health services. "Although the health policy" said Aniefiok Moses, Journal of Environmental Health, June 2006 "emphasized primary health care as its corner stone, budgetary provision has been deliberately made to strengthen and sustain expensive medical care at the expense of preventive health services at the ratio of 5:1". Even the former president Obasanjo was quoted at the launching of national environmental sanitation policy and programme 2005 as saying, "The huge cost of decadent environmental sanitation to the nation cannot be over emphasized. Apart from huge curative health costs, which constitute a major drain on local and national resources, there is massive loss in human capital due to high mortality and morbidity rates, decreasing productivity, as well as impoverishment and poor living standards. In addition, a dirty environment with its attendant's health consequences prevailing in our towns and cities, can discourage tourist and investors".
Technologically, the environment which the environmental health practitioners operate is hostile, beside inadequate basic infrastructure like good roads, clean water supply and other amenities that supposes to facilitate environmental health services; people's awareness about environmental health matters is still abysmally low. It is still very difficult to show the relationship between environmental health factors like filth, heat poor ventilation, poor food hygiene practice etc and the health of the community. With such low awareness, it is sometime very difficult to prescribe any form of strategy to abate environmental nuisances that impact negatively on public health.
Attitudinally and psychologically, environmental health practice and services are both human focused, as such, it is one of the most difficult profession to practice, for it deals with people's behaviours, perception, attitude and other people develop resistance to, for instance, housing inspection, because it involves 'probing' into people's privacy and challenging their way of life [Aniefiok Moses, Journal of Environmental Health, June 2006].
On the other hand the media is not playing its role efficiently toward environmental health issues, but always sided with medical practitioners whom are not environmental health practitioners in discussing issues of environmental health. Most of Nigeria's health problems that are environmentally related rarely do media consult environmental health practitioners, but only doctors who assumed and dictate whatever they like from the perspective of their practice, this greatly damage the status of the practitioners as if they do not exist, notwithstanding their relegation in the Nigerian health sector policy makers.
The practitioners also rarely writes in the national dailies contributing their quota toward their profession and their position in the health sector reform and others, until with the coming of the Journal of Environmental Health, published by the Society for Environmental Health Officers of Nigeria.
At the local government level where environmental health services lie most, there is intra fighting between Community Health Officers [CHO] and Environmental Health Officers [EHO] over who shall manage Primary Health Care [a subject of another day] department and what is the priority health needs, where by the former see himself as the alpha and omega of primary health care, which in the long run, it is the public that suffer. Similar to this had happens recently in the state ministry of health, Kano, between environmental health officers and other health workers, read these written by this writer, 'Environmental Health and health Ministry, New Nigerian Newspapers, Jan 7, 2006, and Daily Triumph, February 13, 2006.
These and many more contributed towards further endangering environmental health services by government emphasis to only medical health services, thus giving room for un coordinate environmental health services with the attendant indiscriminate dumping of waste, poor handling of food, unmonitored water quality, poor housing and urban planning, high prevalence of environmentally controllable diseases.
Not withstanding the role environmental health officers played pre-independence and post independence in shaping Nigeria's health sector, read 'An History of Environmental in Nigeria', Daily Trust, January 14, 2005, and the work of Environmental health Officer in Weekly Trust, August 5-11, 2006, Young Trusters column written by this writer, environmental health remained unregulated in Nigeria until 2002, when the then government of Olusegun Obasanjo through the effort of Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria, under Abiodun Bamigboye pursue registration of environmental health as a profession to its logical conclusion [a move that was started since 70s], via the enactment of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria [EHORCN] act No 11 of 2002.
The act charge the council with the regulation of environmental health practice through a] determining what standard of knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the profession of environmental health and improving those standards from time to time; b] securing in accordance with the provisions of the act for the establishment and maintenance of register………..'; c] conducting examination in the profession and awarding certificates or diplomas to successful candidates as appropriate…..'; and d] performing the other functions conferred on the council by the act.
The council was inaugurated in March 2004 by the then federal minister of environment-Col [rtd] Bala Mande, since then, the council has been engrossed in carrying out its task by liaising with the relevant authorities in making the profession a better and to the standard, considering its total neglect for over four decades.
The hosting of the first 'Stakeholders conference on Environmental Health practice' in April 2006, was the first in the right direction, where over 2000 members of the profession were inducted, pursuing the enactment of National Environmental Health Regulations 2007, making sure the National Policy on Environmental Sanitation 2005 see the light of the day, conducting of Mandatory Continuing Education Programme, consultation with some universities for the possible start of a degree programme in Environmental health and many more, read 'Environmental Health in Nigeria', Daily Triumph, February 19, 2007, by this writer.
These and many more cannot be done in one fell swoop, nevertheless, with the able leadership of the president of the council, His excellency Alhaji Mohd Danyaya, the Emir of Ningi, The indefatigable Registrar, Mr Austine Ebisike, the representative of North West, Alhaji Ibrahim Malami, Aniefiok Moses and the rest, Dubagari would be re-launch more than ever in the history of Nigeria. Join them this year for the launching of the new uniform of their professional work.
No comments:
Post a Comment