Basics of Community-Led Total Sanitation

¹ Sanitarian A.N. Amadi Ph.D, Fseh, Frsph(Uk) and² Olabisi Agberemi

1.  Head, Public Health Technology & Wash Consultant

Federal University of Technology, Owerri

Email: amadian2003@yahoo.com

2.  WASH Specialist, UNICEF Abuja

RESUME

ASSAINISSEMENT TOTAL PORTE PAR LACOMMUNAUTE          

L’assainissement total porte par lacommunaute est une method innovatrice qui mobilize des communauties a eliminer completement la defecation en plein air. Petra Banqautz et Robert Chambers I’ ont defini comme etent “une nouvelle approche pour la promotion de l’assainissement qui encourage une analyse personelle communautaire des methodes de et des dangers poses par la defecation en plein air”.

toutetois, cette methode fait face a des defis dont quelques-uns incluent: un suivi inadequat par les unites d’hygiene et d’assainissement d’eau du gouvernement local l’existence d’un grand ecert entre les communautes integrees et celles accomplissant la reduction ou l’eradication de la defecation en plein air.

par consequent, il faut qu’il y ait une formation continue de facilitatuers au niveau du gouvernement local et que les communautes forment des comites de suivi et d’evaluation des programmes de l’assainissement total pote par le communaute.

PREAMBLE

Since the down of civilization, man has been involved in various activities within his environment. Those activities have the propensity of generating waste which is susceptible to making the environment inhabitable, i.e., filthy and unhealthy (Kamal and Roberts, 2004).

This view of waste generation is not only limited to man’s activities. As a matter of fact, it is also extended to man himself. It is hardly credible for man to think of himself as an author of nuisance. However, what he produces, after consuming foods of different sorts, is waste, which is also capable of making the environment inhabitable.

It follows, then, that, whenever humans gather their waste, whether as a result their activities or as by-products of what they consume, also accumulates. This accumulation poses a serious health hazard to man, especially, within his habitat, so it has to be kept in check and, if possible, eradicated for the environment to be neat and healthy. 

Generally, excreta management/sanitation can be divided into on-site and off-site technologies. On-site systems (e.g. latrines) store and/or treat excreta at the point of generation. In off-site systems (e.g. sewerage) excreta are transported to another location for treatment, disposal or use. Some on-site systems, particularly in densely populated areas or with permanent structures, will have off-site treatment components, as well.

On-site disposal: In many places, particular in areas with low population densities, it is common to store and treat waste where they are produced – on-site. There are a number of technical options for on-site waste management which, if designed, constructed, operated and maintained correctly, will provide adequate service and health benefits when combined with good hygiene. On-site systems include ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, double vault composting latrines, pour-flush toilets, and septic tanks. Dry sanitation or ecological-sanitation (Eco-San) is an on-site disposal method that requires the separation of urine and faeces. Building and operating these systems is often much less expensive than off-site alternatives. Some on-site systems (e.g., septic tanks or latrines in densely packed urban areas) require sludge to be pumped out and treated off-site. Composting latrines allow waste to be used as a fertilizer after it has been stored under suitable conditions to kill worm eggs and other pathogens.

Off-site disposal: In more densely packed areas, sewerage systems are frequently used to transport waste off-site where it can be treated and disposed of. Conventional centralized sewerage systems require an elaborate infrastructure and large amount of water carry the water away. This type of approach may work well in some circumstances, but is impractical for many other locations- -e.g., Nigeria.

To ensure a neat and healthy environment, consequently, individuals and communities have to embrace the habit of proper disposal of solid and liquid waste through various means and methods. One of such means and methods is Community – Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) (Bwure, 2010).

Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is one of the latest innovations of encouraging individuals and communities to adapt in order to keep free from any activities injurious to good health, especial for instance, human defecation. This method is based upon the premise that subsidies can slow and inhibit the spread of sanitation.

CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY – LED TOTAL SANITATION

Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is an innovative methodology for mobilizing communities with a view to eradicating Open Defecation (OD). Also, it can be said to be a new approach to sanitation promotion which encourages community self-analysis of existing defecation patterns and threats, and promotes local solutions to reduce and ultimately eliminate the practice of Open Defecation’ (Petra Banqaitz and Robert Chambers, 2009). This definition entails that (CLTS) processes can precede and lead on to, or occur simultaneously with,

-      Improvement of latrine designs

-      adoption and improvement of hygienic practices

-      Solid waste management

-      Waste water disposal

-      Care

-      Protection and maintenance of drinking water sources, and

-      Other environmental health and sanitation strategies.

In many cases, CLTS initiates a series of new collective local development actions by OD communities. (Kamal Kar 2004 & moore Community-Led Total Sanitation is total and involves or affects everyone in the communities. Collective decision-taking and collective local actions are the keys of CLTS, which enhance social solidarity and cooperation in abundance. At the heart of CLTS lies the recognition that merely providing toilets does not guarantee their use, nor result in improved sanitation and hygiene. Rather, people decide together how they will create a clean and hygienic environment that benefits everyone.

PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES OF CLTS

With a view to achieve total sanitation, that is, Open Defecation free communities led by a sustainable use of safe, affordable and user-friendly solutions and/or technologies,

1.  Total sanitation must include provision of sanitation facilities such as dustbins latrines, urines, adequate bathrooms, hand washing equipment, water, soap, etc. in schools, health centers, markets, dormitories and other public places.

2.  In CLTS, communities must be in charge of the change process and use their capacity to attain their envisioned objectives. Community members themselves must be allowed to play a control role in planning, with special attention to the need of women, children and other vulnerable groups;

3.  Subsidies (in the form of funds, hard wares, etc) are not to be given straight to households. Community rewards and incentives should be acceptable only where they encourage collective action, total sanitation, and are used to attain sustainable use of sanitation facilities (as opposed to the construction of infrastructures without educating people on how to use and maintain them)’

4.  For sustainable CLTS, local communities must be empowered towards more participatory activities;

5.  The visibility of community activities must be strengthened;

6.  Local and international linkages with donor agencies and other stakeholders on sanitation should be strengthened;

7.  There must be improvement upon initiation of community – driven health and sanitation activities such as the one organized by Center for Women, Gender and Development Studies (CWGDS).

8.  There must be capacity building in rural and urban areas through training;

9.  Local and international policies should be made available to communities so that these may contribute to policy debates;

10.              There should be routine tests of self-mobilization of communities;

11.              CLTS must contribute to research in order to enhance community knowledge on the operations of land use Decrees and Acts, etc. (Kamal 2004, Moore & Mckee 2012).

STRATEGIES OF CLTS

In order to attain its objectives, CLTS employs several strategies, which include the following:

1.  Given priority to sanitation and hygiene.

2.  Mobilizing political will.

3.  Requiring good approaches to sanitation and hygiene development.

4.  Building on existing practices.

5.  Paying attentions to gender,

6.  Harmonizing institutional frameworks for service delivery.

7.  Enforcing existing sanitation laws.

8.  Involving NGOs, community-base organizations (CNOs) and private sectors.

9.   Sourcing for more funds, specially for sanitation and hygiene     

ATTRIBUTES OF CLTS

CLTS possesses attributes that depict its actions. it is….

1.  focused: It focuses on stopping open defecation;

2.  Encompassing: It employs and relies on the collective action of the members of a community to stop defecation within the community;

3.  Insightful: It recognize that sanitation is both a public and a private good, and that individual hygiene behavior can affect a whole community;

4.  Unprovisioning: I t does not take the responsibility of building toilet for a community; rather, it mandates households to finance their own toilets;

5.  Promotional: It promotes low cost home – made toilets constructed with local materials (rather than standard toilet designs imposed by outsiders) with provision to climb up the sanitation ladder; 

6.  Improving: It seeks general improvement in personal, household and environmental hygiene (including hand washing);

7.  Additional: It increases ownership and sustainability of hygiene of sanitation activities.

DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH POOR SANITATION

It is a well known fact that human excreta have been implicated in the transmission of many infectious diseases including cholera, typhoid, infectious hepatitis, polio, cryptosporidiosis and ascariasis. WHO (2004) estimates that about 1.8 million people annually where 90% are children under five, mostly in developing countries.

Poor sanitation gives many infections the ideal opportunity to spread. Common sanitation and hygiene related diseases are Lice, Lymphatic filariasis, Ringworm, Scabies, Soil transmitted helminthiasis and Trachoma.

Others are amebiasis, Buruli Ulcer, Campylobacter, Cholera, Cryptoporidiosis, Cyclosporiasis, Dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease), Escherichia coli) Fascioliasis, Giardiasis, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis Norovirus, Rotavirus Salmonella, Schistosomiasis, Shigellosis, Typhoid Fever.

Sanitation and hygiene are very important to health, survival and development. A great amount of disease can be prevented and averted through better access to convenient sanitation equipment and better hygiene practices. Improved sanitation facilities (for example, toilets and latrines) allow people to dispose of their waste appropriately, which helps break the infection cycles of many diseases. (Amadi, 2009).

CLTS IN NIGERIA AND CHALLENGES

Community-Led Total Sanitation and its adaptations were piloted in Nigeria from 2004-2007 in a number of communities. The pilot interventions were carried out by such organizations as UNICEF, Water Aid, State and Local Governments. Based upon the outcome of such interventions, CLTS was adopted as a major approach for moral sanitation development.

In 2010, UNICEF engaged DR. Kamal Kar to make a fast evaluation of CLTS implementation in Nigeria and facilitate a national training of master trainers on the effective scaling up of CLTS. The main finding of the evaluation was that the CLTS approach in the project areas had been generally very successful in promoting significant reduction in t he practice of open defecation free status. 

However, many problems are still recorded in the project areas. They are as follows:

1.  The government is not pro-active in following up and monitoring CLTS activities in designated areas.

2.  There is lack of baseline data on community sanitation owing to poor record keeping and documentation.

3.   There are delay in implementing open defecation free guidelines and discrepancies in recording open defecation free status.

4.  The upward movement on the sanitation ladder is very slow.

5.  NGOs scarcely get involved in promoting community-Let Total Sanitation.

6.  Facilities for scaling up CLTS are inadequately skilled.

7.  There is still a big gap between the number of triggered communities and the numbers achieving open defecation free (ODF) (Rukuni, 2010).

There is need for on-going research in the area of CLTS.

REFERENCE

Amadi, A.N (2009) Modern Environmental Sanitation; Owerri, Nationwide Printers & publishing Co. Ltd. Bwure, Buluwa (2010) Breaking Shit Taboos: CLTS in Kenya; participatory learning & Action, 61(1) Pg 91-96.

Da silva Wells, Carmen and Sijbesma Christine (2012) Development in Practice’ 22 (3)P 417-426 Kamal Kar &Robert Chambers (2004) Handbook on Community-led Total Sanitation Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK. 

Moore Tom & Mckee Kiai (2012) Empowering Local Government? An international review of Community Land Trust Housing 27 (20 pg 280-290).

Rukuni Samuel (2010): Challenging Mindsets: CLTS and Government Policies in Zimbabwe’ Participatory Learning and action (10 pg 1141-14).      

The place of women in community sanitation

BY

MR. AUGUSTINE EBISIKE MEM, Fseh, MRSPH

THE REGISTRAR, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS

REGISTRATION COUNCIL OF NIGERIA;

AT THE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATION

AT FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, OWERRI

THIS 31^ST DAY OF AUGUST, 2012.

Protocol

I am very much delighted on the honour given to me not only to participate in the celebration of this year’s world environment day with you but also to lead the discuss on the interesting topic “ the of women in community sanitation”. Two things fuel my excitement as we go on to discuss this topic. First the question posed by the theme of this year’s world environment celebration –“green economy, does it include you” and your focus on the role of women as drivers of sanitation in our communities and society at large. The answer is very obvious, green economy does not only include, but is driven by women.

Permit me to get into the discussion through conceptual clarifications of the sub-themes of the subject matter.

 Community: This is defined as a group of people living together, sharing common ecological and cultural characteristics and driven by a cohesive social relationship. Of importance here is the ecological, cultural and social relationship. It is a group of people who live and derive their daily sustenance sharing a giving environmental setting and controlled by defined socio-cultural norms.

The definition of a community at Dictionary.com is “a social group of any size whose members reside in specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage” The Wikipedia encyclopedia describes it is “a group of interacting people, living in some proximity (i.e., in space, time, or relationship)”. Community usually refers to a social unit larger than a household that shares common values and has social cohesion. The dictionary went further to describe community in biological terms as a group of interacting living organisms sharing a populated environment. In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risk, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness. These descriptions of community suit our intent and this discussion.

Sanitation:  This is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. The World Health Organization states that: “Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faces”. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across communities. The world ‘sanitation’ also refers to the maintenance of hygiene conditions, through services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal, food sanitation.

The term “sanitation” can be applied to a specific aspect, concept, location or strategy, such as: Improved sanitation, on site sanitation, food sanitation, ecological sanitation, environmental sanitation etc. Ecological sanitation is an approach that tries to emulate nature through the recycling of nutrients and water from human and animal wastes in a hygienically safe manner.

Environmental sanitation when used refers to man’s activities in the environment aimed at restoring the environment to a level it will engender health and support life. I t is the control of environmental factors that form links in disease transmission. We shall dwell a little bit on this.

CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION

Environmental Sanitation is an often misconstrued subject matter. The average man on the street and even those in government circles in the country understands it as no more than the routine evacuation of collected municipal solid waste. So long as there is less observed heaps of refuse, i.e. refuse is removed from the streets, the average individual feels satisfied with the state of the environment and those in governance may give themselves kudos without recourse to other critical factors in the environment that might be infringing on the well-being of the individual in the neighborhoods or the society at large.

The World Health Organization defined Environmental Sanitation as the control of all factors in man’s physical environment which exercise or may exercise a deleterious effect on his physical development, health and survival. Ojewale (2009) sees it as “a way of life, a quality of living that is expressed in the clean home, the clean farm, the clean business, the clean neighborhood and the clean community. Being a way of life, it must come from within the people. It is nourished by knowledge and growing as an obligation and as an ideal in human relation”.

It has also been defined in the Business Dictionary (2010) as “activities aimed at improving or maintaining the standard of basic environmental conditions affecting the well-being of people”. These definitions suggest that environmental sanitation involves both behaviours and facilities which work together to form a hygienic environment. That is, there must be essential facilities available for use, the correct understanding and positive attitude and indeed the application of the facilities correctly to attain the desired sanitary state. Ojewale (2008) describes Environmental Sanitation as a system with nature, society, proves and device as its components.

The Federal Ministry of Environment (2005) defined Environmental Sanitation as “The principles and practice of effecting healthful and hygienic conditions in the environment to promote public health and welfare, improve quality of life, reduce poverty and ensure a sustainable environment”.  This definition indeed that of Ojewale are quite appropriate within the parlance of this discuss, as it sees environmental sanitation as improvement in hygienic conditions directed not only to the improvement of health and welfare but also the reduction in poverty and ensuring sustainable development. Ojewale vividly pointed at sanitation as a way of life, coming from within the people (society) and assisted by nature, process and devices.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION:

Over the centuries, am had realized the need for the protection of his environment through safe management of waste, which is Environment Sanitation.

The Holy Bible, written about three thousand years ago contains many rules for Environmental Sanitation and describes basic Public Health measures, which are still relevant for sustainable community sanitation today. These include quarantining the sick to prevent the spread of disease and avoiding contact with objects used by sick people (Leviticus chapter 13). The book of Deuteronomy 23, vs 12-13 states, “You are to have a peace outside the camp where you can go when you need to relieve yourselves. Carry a stick as part of your equipment, so that when you have a bowel movement you can dig a hole and cover it up”. This practice is what in Public Health parlance we called “Cat Sanitation”.

The situation in ancient Greek societies further illustrates this position more succinctly. The Greek physician Hippocrates was one of first to make the connection between disease and natural environmental factors in the 4^th century BC. His treatise Airs, Waters, and Places described how diseases could result from way of life, climate, impure water, and other environmental factors. For the next 2000 years, it was the most widely used text on public health and epidemiology.

“Ancient Romans adopted Greek ideas about Public Health after colonizing Greece in the 1^st century BC. Roman’s greatest contributions of public health involved sanitary engineering. The build aqueducts to supply Rome with our water and a public sewer system to carry away waster as well as public baths and hospitals. The Roman government also hired physicians and assigned them to villages to care for the poor”.

The movement to a clean environment and what has become known as environmental Sanitation started in Britain in the 17^th century. Sir EDWIN Chadwick first established the relationship between environment, disease and ill health, in the 1840s. He began to enquire why people become poor and after a far reaching enquiry, he concluded that people often become poor because of ill health due to a bad environment. Chadwick wrote his report “The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Class” in 1842. This work culminated into the 1848 Public Health Act in Britain.

When Nigeria became a British colony, the British Public Health Act was enacted take care of Environmental Sanitation issues in Nigeria. Those of us who belong to the older generation will remember the exploits of the Sanitary Inspector during the Colonial period up till the 1970s. During this period, Environmental Sanitation was effectively carried out and those diseases, which have a relationship with Environmental Sanitation, were kept to at bay. This reduced the cost of health care services for both the government and the people as preventive health care was emphasized rather than the situation today where purely preventive diseased have been made to look like and treat with curative approaches with attendant cost overruns as is the case with Mosquito control and malaria treatment.

COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION

Nwankwo (2004) and Reeve (2002) described Environmental Sanitation as comprising the provision of safe and adequate water supply, proper and efficient disposal of wastes, safeguarding of food, provision of insect vector and other pest control measures, control of animal reservoirs of infection, air hygiene and prevention of atmospheric pollution and the elimination of environmental hazards, pollution like noise, radiation. 

Also, environmental sanitation components is listed in Business Dictionary (2010) to include (i) clean and safe water supply, (ii) clean and safe ambient air, (iii) efficient and safe animal, human and industrial waste disposal, (iv) protection of food from biological and chemical contaminates and, (v) adequate housing in clean and safe surroundings.

However, the essential components of environmental sanitation were listed more elaborately by Badejo (2008) and the Federal Ministry of Environment (2005) and include:

Housing sanitation including House –to– House Sanitary Inspection of Premises. Solid waste management; Medical waste management; Excreta and sewage management; food sanitation; cleaning of streets and drainages; Market and Abattoir sanitation; Adequate potable water supply; School sanitation; Pest and vector control’ management of urban        drainage; Control of reared and stray of animals; Disposal of the dead (man and animals); Weed Vegetation control; Hygiene education and promotion.

From the ongoing discussions it is clear that environmental sanitation has expanded much on the original concept of sanitation which we referred to as merely provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and feces to include other important concepts as care of foods, streets, markets, houses, schools, dead man and above all education of others on hygiene issues.

When these sanitation activities are carried out through an organized common effort of the community we refer to such as community sanitation. The community ordinarily from its definition and concept share in common – environment, government, culture, common risks, defense, norms, social cohesion etc. and has definite social pattern of sharing with on another the burden and joys of the environment. Community sanitation therefore refers to the intrinsic organization, processes and actions a community takes to bring under control the deviations from the natural environment which is or may likely affect the health and life of the inhabitants or property.

From the definitions of sanitation we can summarize that sanitation is a way of life (intrinsic), a process which is enhanced y diverse (infrastructure) and driven by knowledge. It must come from within the people. It is nourished by knowledge and growing as an obligation and as an ideal in human relation”. For sanitation to thrive, people must have basic knowledge, imbibe the culture and possesses basic materials and equipment/infrastructure to support their sanitation action.

How then do women come in here? Women in our culture connote family, generational change development and industry. In our traditional Nigerian Society, women are responsible for keeping the home safe and hygienic. They are the people responsible for the provision of drinking water by fetching water from the stream or well or wherever it is found.

In our traditional society women wake up early in the morning daily to sweep the compound. On the village market day they sweep from their various compounds to the main roads of the village where they meet other women who have equally swept from their own compounds to the main road. From the main road they sweep to the market square where all the women in the village would converge having swept the road from their various compounds through the network of roads in the village to the village market square. This is a way that the women in the traditional community keep the community clean. In the area of food sanitation, the Nigeria women has learnt to thoroughly cook food thereby ensuring that enteric diseases are destroyed and ensure The Nigeria woman also bequeaths these sanitation precepts to her children and the culture had continued.

Unfortunately, this part of our culture is weaning as we continue to urbanize. These days, it is becoming common to see women not caring for their family’s basic sanitation but rather depend on city authorities to ensure that their immediate environment is kept clean.

Conclusion

Women are central to the achievement and sustenance of environmental sanitation in our various communities. They played a central role in the past and should be made to continue to play that motherly caring role not for their families alone but for the environment where they live and work.

REFERENCES

1.  Ojewale S.A. (2008) Water Sanitation as a key Achieving the Goals of International Year of Sanitation Public lecture presented at the 41^st Annual National Conference/Scientific Workshop of Environmental Health officers Association of Nigeria at Glory Land Cultural Center Auditorium Yenago Bayelsa Sate 24^th -30^th March 2008.

2.  Ojewale S.A. (2009) Environmental Sanitation: Making Every Day Counts Public lecture presented at the 42^nd National Conference/Scientific Workshop of Environmental health officers Association of Nigeria at IBB Secretariat Complex, Damaturu Yobe State, 19^th – 22^nd November 2009.

3.  Federal Ministry of Environment 2005, National Environment Sanitation Policy.

4.  Nwankwo, Benjamin O. (2004) Environmental Sanitation and Health 1^st ed. Cherry Bren and Co. Owerri, pp:3-6.

5.  Reeve R. (2002) Introduction to Environmental Analysis USA, John Willey and Sons Ltd, pp:1-2

6.  CIEH (2003) Chartered Institute of Environmental Health London @www.cieh.org.

7.  ELI (2000) Community Environmental Health Assessment Workbook. By Environmental Law Institute, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, USA. Page 1.

Strategy for a healthy and sustainable environment for the socio-economic development

BY

MOSES O. E. IWUALA

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY,

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE

FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY OWERRI,

IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Being an invited Paper presented on the occasion of the Celebration of 2012 World Environment Day organized by the Centre for Women, Genger and Development Studies, FUTO Tuesday 31^st July 2012

Protocol

INTRODUCTION

I should start by commending the public-spirited efforts and initiatives of the Center for Women, Gender and Development Studies in Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). Under the able leadership of Dr. (Mrs.) Ihuoma P. Asiabaka, the Center has done a lot in promoting the training, skill acquisition and socio-economic empowerment for the Women, our children and youths and the University Community generally. In addition the Centre has continued to create awareness on current and contemporary issues of practice interest. A case in point is the bold initiative of organizing the present Celebration of the 2012 World Environment Day in FUTO. In particular, I am grateful for the invitation to present a lead Paper as part of the activities marking this year’s Celebration. Since our ultimate focus globally is that of exploring ways and means of attaining a safe, sanitation and sustainable environment, I am minded to consider this against the background of the socio-economic development of our people. To this end I will be speaking on the “Strategy for a healthy and sustainable Environment for the Socio-economic development of Nigeria”.

NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR ENVIRONMENT

The Environment in which we live and thrive is made up of the Physical Components, the Plants and Animals around us, and the human population etc.   

The Physical (or Abiotic) Environment comprises the land Area, the water bodies, and the aerial (or atmospheric) space around us. the characteristics of the Physical Environment may vary extensively (e.g. in terms of the soil and rock structure, with differential terrains and topography on land) and the differential physical features of natural water bodies (e.g. in terms of water volume, quality and depths/dimension etc.). The same is true of the atmospheric space around us and variations in the quality and wind movement etc.

The plants, Animals and Human populations in our environment, together with the micro-organisms that abound in the Soil, Water and Air around us constitute the biotic Environment. The Plants provide the vegetable cover in the environment and serve as primary sources of food supply to the animals and Man. Plants are therefore cultivated in Agriculture to promote supply of food items and raw materials for manufacturing industries (including food processing, canning, pharmaceutical and textile industries etc.). Other plant resources derive from Natural Forest and Forestry Plantation etc. The animal pollutions in our environment include domestic animals and farm animals (like livestock animals, poultry birds and fishery stocks etc.) as well as the various forms of Wildlife animals available in different environments. There are also the various forms of predators, pest and parasites that play various roles in the ecology of various habitats.

The human population depends on plant and animal populations and on other natural resources from the soil, water and the air for effective sustenance. Nevertheless, the population characteristics in different areas differ substantially (e.g. in terms of population density, demographic composition and socio-economic characteristics etc). Settlement patterns and living conditions of people also differ considerably in different locations, subject to a variety of factors.

The Environment in which we live is also subject to the influence of some natural phenomena like Sunshine, Heat and Temperature changes, Rainfall, Thunderstorms, Wind movements, and other such phenomena, many of which are becoming increasingly more evident in these days of global warming and climate change. In addition, the heavy load of micro-organisms (e.g. Bacteria, Fungi, Viruses etc) play important roles that impact significantly on the lives handy in the maintenance of the economy of nature e.g. through facilitating the decay and decomposition of dead plants and animals and the natural recycling of various forms of organic matter to restore basic elements to the environment.

As part of their day to day activities, and other natural functions, human, animals and plants generate various forms of waste (including excretory wastes and other forms of organic and inorganic products). These wastes invariably contaminate the natural environment and may pollute the soil, water sources and the atmosphere. Human and animal settlements, farm plantations and various other establishments may also be negatively affected by domestic and industrial wastes, toxic chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, irradiation materials and other forms of environmental pollutants and ecotoxicants.

ATTRIBUTES OF A HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

  A healthy and sustainable environment is one that is sanitary, safe and supportive of the growth and multiplication of human and animal populations and the luxuriant growth and spread of plants. As a rule, organisms in such an environment have access to good nutriment, healthcare and protection, and are basically exposed to minimal (or at least tolerable) levels of communicable and pathogenic infections. More specifically, the features of such environment include the following:

ü Regular observance of environmental sanitation and hygiene; with adequate provisions for refuse and sewage disposal and avoidance of indiscriminate dumping of wastes and industrial sludge.

ü Provision of adequate housing and shelter for the human population (with limited congestion, adequate ventilation and functional toilet facilities). In addition, suitable facilities are normally available for healthy Animal husbandry and related Agricultural Practices.

ü Availability of clean and adequate Water Supply is also one of the essential attributes of a healthy and sustainable Environment; with proper checks being observed to guarantee the quality of water, consumed and used for other purposes.

ü Ample nutritional supply should also be available for human and animal populations. This underscores the essence of viable Agricultural productivity for enhanced sustenance of any community.

ü A healthy and sustainable Environment must have dependable provisions for effective Healthcare, Disease Control and Disease Prevention. This should applicable not only to the human population but also the animal population, to help minimize chances of zoonotic transmission of infections in the locality.

ü Clean air supply (Indoors and Outdoors) with less chances of atmospheric pollution e.g. from putrid wastes, gas emissions, bush burning, chimney wastes or fossil fuel sustainable environment.

ü Provision for positive nurturing, education and grooming of the human population should also be available, with opportunities for basic education, skill acquisition exposure, entrepreneurship training and other forms of positive development of the human populace.

ü A healthy and sustainable environment must be addition have facilities and potentials for fruitful exploitation of available natural resources, with the proceeds being ploughed back to service the socio-economic and welfare needs of the populace in keeping with the principles and practice of the concept of the green economy.

STRATEGY FOR ATTAINING A HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR NIGERIA,S SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In The Quest for a Healthy and Sustainable Environment for Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Development Therefore a Strategic Plan of Action is Proposed, Based on the Following Measures:

1.  Maintenance of Sanitation and Healthy surrounding in homes, residential settlements and in public establishments generally. Community hygiene, drainage and desilting of gutters, clearance and safe disposal of refuse, sewage and other forms of wastes must be regularly observed and backed by Sanitary Inspection with appropriate sanctions being enforced, for defaulters.

2.  There should be proper mapping and planning of our Environment, starting from the rural communities to the towns and Urban Centres. As much as possible, functional lay-outs should be provided with clear guidelines in the housing settlements and other forms of private and public shelters.

3.  Bold measure water which should be reticulated to service the needs of the populace potable water which should be reticulated to service the needs of the populace in all sectors (domestic, commercial, agricultural, industrial etc). Also natural water bodies like lakes and rivers must be protected from undue contamination; and where feasible, they should be positively exploited for productive purposes (e.g. in fish farming and irrigation activities, etc).

4.  In the light of our rich natural endowments, steps should be taken to promote agrarian and sustainable Agriculture, taking account of the huge potentials offered by crop farming, cereals and citrus cultivation, livestock farming, poultry farming and fisheries development etc. Added to these should be some positive measures to provide industrial back-up in form of Agro-based industries focusing on food production, food processing and food preservation etc.

5.  For effective and healthy sustenance of  the populace, Healthcare Programmes need to strengthened at all levels, starting from the Community-based Primary Healthcare activities through the level of Secondary Healthcare (involving General hospitals and Clinics) to the Tertiary Healthcare level with properly equipped Teaching Hospitals and others such Specialized referral Centres. Also there should be active promotion of Disease Vector Control, Immunization Programmes and other positive Disease Prevention measures.

6.  The maintenance of a Clean and Healthy Atmosphere should also be pursued vigorously with emphasis on the need for clean fuels and vehicles, and the minimization of gas flaring, bush burning, indiscriminate refuse dumping etc. In addition, public enlightment campaigns should be mounted to promote clean indoor Air through minimizing exposure of women and children to domestic air pollution resulting from household energy use [involving use of kerosene stoves, firewood and coal etc].

7.  For meaningful Socio-economic empowerment of the populace, the curricula for Schools and Colleges will need to be positively reviewed to strengthen elements of Health Science and Hygiene, skill acquisition, entrepreneurial training and the essential tenets of Environmental Protection and Conservation, Bio-diversity and Bio-safety etc. Furthermore target-oriented Manpower development efforts emphasizing on Environment Awareness, Ecology and Resource exploitation need to be stressed for the guidance of the various tiers of Government in the country.

8.  For sake of rapid Socio-economic Development at local, State and National levels, diversified Commercial and Industrial Establishments need to be provided to exploit the country’s vast natural resources, including mineral ores and our plant and animal resources for sake of providing job opportunities and trade options needed for the social and economic emancipation of our people.

CONCLUSION

Altogether it is evident that Nigeria is a country richly endowed in Human, Plant and Animal Resources, plus vast land area and substantial mineral and other resources (including Oil and Gas). These and other assets (actual and potential) can be gainfully explored and exploited to ensure sustainability of this country as a viable nation with assurances of food security, socio-economic, self-reliance and a safe and sanitary environment; provided we strive in the right direction to take necessary steps to minimize environmental contamination and pollution, while promoting a healthy and sustainable environment for our children and for generations yet unborn.

Thank you.

              

keynote address by the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia

ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2012 WORLD ENVIRONMENT

DAY CELEBRATION AT CENTER FOR WOMEN, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

STUDENTS, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, OWERRI, ON TUESDAY, 31^ST JULY, 2012

PROTOCOL

I am honoured to address you on this august and memorable occasion of the commemoration of the 2012 World Environment Day. As you are aware, the World Environment Day, WED, as it is often called, was established by the United Nations General Assembly to mark the start of the UN Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in June 1972. The Stockholm Conference was the first occasion that world leaders met to discuss the political, social and economic problems of the global environment with view to addressing them.

2. The World Environment Day (WED) therefore is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness on the environment and enhances political attention and action. The aim of WED is to: give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership which will ensure a safer and more prosperous future for all nations and peoples.

3. This year’s World Environment Day celebration had the theme “Green Economy: Does it include you?” Curiously, one of the central themes of this year’s Rio+20 Earth Summit on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was also “Green Economy”. But what is Green Economy? A Green economy is described as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In other words, we can think of a green economy as an economic environment that achieves low carbon emissions, resource efficiency and at the same time socially inclusive.

4. In line with the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, the focus of my Ministry as part of Mr. President transformational agenda is the achievement of sustainable development in Nigeria. Sustainable Development id development that distributes its benefits equitably regenerates the environment rather than destroying it; and empowers people rather than marginalizing them. It is a three prong concept which has the social economic and the environmental aspects.

5. Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that Nigeria is rapidly developing socially and economically with the attendant negative impacts on the environment. These negative impacts are the results of deleterious and unsustainable human activities such as incessant deforestation, greenhouse gas emission, poor consumption patterns, unsustainable mining practices, increased population pressure, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, littering and other poor sanitation practices.

6. There is undoubtedly a strong correlation between sanitation and health problems such as malaria, diarrhea, cholera and high infant and maternal mortality. Women and children are often the major culprit just as they are victims.

7. No doubt the environment needs people and the people need the environment. This therefore behoves on all of us especially the women folk to individually and collectively contribute our quota in the achievement of sustainable development in Nigeria by taking advantage of the many opportunities in the environment sector. I call on women to play a leadership role by promoting environmental ethics, reducing resource use, and reusing and recycling the available resources to minimize waste generation.

  8. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I know that women, especially the indigenous women, have particular knowledge of ecological linkages and fragile ecosystem management. Women in many communities provide the labour force for subsistence production hence, their role is crucial to the provision of food and nutrition; the enhancement of the subsistence and informal sector; and the preservation of the environment. In certain regions, women are generally the most stable members of the community, as men often pursue work in distant locations, leaving the women to safeguard the natural environment and ensure adequate and sustainable resource allocation within the household and the community.

9. The experiences of women and their contributions to ecologically sound environment is therefore central to the achievement of sustainable development for the twenty-first century. Sustainable development will be an elusive goal unless women’s contribution to environment is recognized and supported.

10. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I want to challenge members of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, and other research institutions in the country to research and come up with cost effective, practicable and indigenous technologies that will provide cleaner energy from waste for households to reduce indoor pollution and health risk; and convert household biodegradable waste into compost for improved agricultural yield. The federal government is amenable to the 3^Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) principle which promotes the segregation of waste at source into recyclables, organic and hazardous with a view to creating jobs, eradicate poverty and ultimately achieved zero waste.

  11. I am pleased to inform you that my Ministry through the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has developed 24 National Environmental Regulations. These Regulations which have been published in the official gazette of the federal government are for the purposes of inspiring personal and collective responsibility in building an environmentally conscious society for the achievement of sustainable development in Nigeria. I urge you as individuals or groups to visit the NESREA South-East Zonal headquarters office here in Owerri to avail yourselves of these regulations especially the National Environmental (Deforestation control & Drought Mitigation) Regulations of 2011, the National Environmental (Control of Bush/Forest Fire and Open Burning ) Regulations of 2011, the National Environmental (Soil Erosion and Flood Control) Regulation of 2011 and the National Environmental (Sanitation and Wastes Control) Regulations S.I. 28 of 2009.

1. These regulations prohibits spells out sanctions for individuals and grups on the common practices of littering dumping of refuse in illegal dumpsite, open defecation, illegal and indiscriminate tree felling, bush burning, etc. while encouraging sound environmental management through partnerships, collaborations and strategic alliances

13. Ladies and gentlemen, I commend the center for Women, Gender and Development Studies for organizing this event and the efforts in carrying out tree planting, grassing and sanitation within the University Campus. You are indeed vanguards of the environment. I want to implore other members of the University community and environs and indeed all Nigerians to emulate these gestures in order to adequately protect the environment to ensure sustainable development.

Finally, I also commend FUTO for the good job being carried out in the training of Environmental Health Officer in Nigeria and in the ECOWAS sub-region as well as the support for Center for Women, Gender and Development.

15. I wish you a fruitful deliberation and thank you for attention. God bless Nigeria.

  

Welcome Address

WELCOME ADDRESS BY DR. (MRS.) IHUOMA P. ASIABAKA, AG. DIRECTOR CENTRE FOR WOMEN, GENDER & DEVELOPMENT STUDIES FUTO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2012 WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATION IN FUTO, HOLDING FROM MONDAY 30^TH – TUESDAY, 31^ST JULY 2012

PROTOCOLS

I feel highly delighted and honoured to welcome you all to the 2012 World Environment Day Celebration in FUTO.

Never before had the environment been so threatened by human activities, hence the need for awareness creation in all nooks and crannies of the world especially in Nigeria on the need for the preservation and protection of the environment.

Man has inadvertently affected the environment negatively through his activities such as pollution, deforestation, bush burning, mining, exploration and exploitation of non-renewable resources, indiscriminate dumping of waste etc.

These anthropogenic activities has degraded the environment resulting in loss of biodiversity, aesthetic values and unsanitary conditions with their attendant health and environmental problems among which are flooding, erosion earthquakes, drought, volcanic eruption, climate change etc.

As in other parts of the Country, environmental sanitation in FUTO has been a great challenge to the University administration. however, the present administration is its quest for excellence has resolved to tackle the poor environmental sanitation in FUTO through awareness creation, beautification, proper waste management and total re-orientation of both staff and students of the University on the need for clean, safe and healthy environment; hence the theme for this year’s World Environment Day celebration in FUTO “Sustainable environment for healthy and socio-economic development of Nigeria”.

As part of this year’s World Environment Day Celebration, we have articulated the following activities:

-      Sanitary inspection of classrooms, student hostels, Laboratories, workshops, cafeteria, toilet facilities and surroundings of all the buildings in the University.

-      Grassing of the environment for beautification and erosion control.

-      Tree planting foe beautification/aesthetic values, economic values, erosion control, wind breakers and environmental purification.

-      General environmental sanitation through grass-cutting, clearing of blocked gutters, sweeping etc.

-      Lectures, demonstrations and exhibitions on environmental issues.

It is hoped that at the end of this occasion, participants will be better equipped and informed on the need for good environmental sanitation. I encourage everybody here to be actively involved in proper environmental management such as tree planting and regular cleaning of their surroundings.

Finally I thank the Vice-Chancellor for this love, support and encouragement in promoting environmental sanitation and beautification, and our partnering/supporting agencies (UNICEF, NESREA, EHORECON, EHOAN, Fed, Min. of Environment, Rotary Int., and PG Students, SOHT) for all your financial and material support.

In conclusion, the Vice-Chancellor and his Management Team may deem it wise to set out a day monthly for environmental sanitation on campus in line with the National Environmental Sanitation (NES) policy, and also award prizes to the staff and students of the best kept/managed School/Department/Unit.

Once more, I welcome you all to the 2012 World Environment Day Celebration in FUTO.

Thank you. 

An address of Prof CC Asiabaka on 2012 World Environment Day

AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY PROF. CHIGOZIE. C. ASIABAKA Ph. D, KSM, JP, THE VICE-CHANCELLOR, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY OWERRI;

DURING THE 2012 WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATION IN FUTO ORGANIZATION BY THE CENTRE FOR WOMEN, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (CWGDS) FUTO ON TUESDAY JULY 31^ST, 2012.

PROTOCOLS

Environmental Health and Sanitation have far reaching effects on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals especially Goals 6 and 7 that relate to environmental sustainability and control of childhood diseases and mortality.

It is on record that Nigeria just like other developing nations is facing major environmental challenges resulting from poor waste management, water sanitation, management of urban drainage, past and vector control, abattoir sanitation, school sanitation, gross environmental pollution and contamination, plus sundry effects.

Globally, about 25 percent of all deaths and disease burden are attributed to environmental factors may account for than 65 per-cent of the diseases in Nigeria, mostly communicable disease.

The scenario above applies to this community (FUTO). This is the reason why this administration from inception has continued to invest heavily on environmental issues on campus including beautification, landscaping, clearing of bushes, vector control etc.

Improvement in the sanitation and aesthetic feature of our environment will positively impact on the psychological, social, biochemical, and mental and spiritual well been of all members of FUTO. This will obviously improve performance, productivity and Public Health of FUTO community of sustained.

You may recall last week, I presented a paper on; The Quest for Excellence: Taking FUTO to the Next Level. In my lecture, I enumerated all that my administration is doing to ensure excellence and transformation of FUTO. This ceremony is indeed one of significant transformation programmes for the welfare of FUTO community.

I must appreciate the CWGDS for organizing Sanitary Inspection of this community in the past one week, using Professional Environment Health Officers (Sanitary Inspectors) who are our students from the department of Public Health Technology, School of Health Technology, FUTO.

I want to say that this Sanitary Inspection exercise will be regular programme in FUTO to ensure s cleaner and hygienic community.

Finally, I salute the Ag. Director CWGDS, Dr. Mrs. (Mrs.) Ihuoma Asiabaka, my dear wife, for her doggedness in organizing this programme. I challenge other Institutes, Directorates, Centres and Schools to take a cue from this.

At this juncture I declare the Programme Open.

Thank you and God bless you all. 

  

Why are they against Environmental health practice?

By Sani Garba Mohammed

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 wellbeing of the population especially the poor.

---James A Listorti et al

The dearth of Environmental health practitioners better known as Environmental Health Officers [EHO] in Nigeria is a great set back to the healthcare delivery which is making not only primary health care services off target, but equally other health services.

This is because "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.....”

This strange marriage existed for so long that it was near impossible to established or convince anyone that Environmental health was a profession. Whereas, World Health Organization 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. Here in Nigeria it is in 2002 that environmental health was recognized as a profession by act no 11 of 2002.

In a country which has taken enthusiastically to the curative idea of modern medicine, it is difficult to genuinely emphasize the environment as the critical factor in health.

“Can the sanitary landfill or sewers be really as important as specialist hospital? Safety of food in the restaurant for instance, does not appear to get the same attention as the case of a food poisoning admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital.

Nigeria is caught in a style of thinking largely in favour of generating more support for curative institutions and professionals for the fight against diseases in hospitals rather than prevent them in the environment. But we all know that, the environment exerts more profound effects on all stages of life than do the curative services which are not always promising.

“We all know that” said Dan Rikichi Kajang  “in the nineteenth century the major influences on personal health came when sewers and clean water supplies were established. In particular cholera and typhoid were prevented by sanitary measures, but public opinion and medical opinion were initially hostile to the environmental strategies. Yet these environmental engineering efforts did more for the cholera and typhoid than all the medical practitioners put together”.

The environment is diametrically attached to human health, illness and mortality. Some estimates put that 40% of world deaths are related to environment. Exposure to potentially hazardous agents such as microbes, toxic chemicals and metals, pesticides, and ionizing radiation, account for many form of environmentally related morbidity and mortality.

 But now that the profession is coming of age under the amiable and indefatigable Registar-Augustine Ebesike, and doing everything possible to place it in its appropriate domain in the scheme of national health issues, those feel threatened are fighting back and making sure all available channels are blocked so that the profession stagnate.

These saboteurs and co have been the one rendering the profession irrelevant in health interventions by hijacking most of its area of scope under them, by using all covert and overt means to frustrate its effort of retrieving its lost place in the scheme of health service in the nation.

At primary health care, which is the base of Nigeria health system, where 70% of environmental health services are, it has been downplayed in favour of curative health services. Also from federal ministry of health, National Primary Health Care Development Agency to the state own, environmental health services are given only superficial role, notwithstanding its central role in the delivery of all the other health services.

Because of their stance against proper environmental health practice, Nigeria could not tame its environment so as to reduce disease burden and make the environment safe for sustainable development and for future generation. Also, it is glaring that Nigeria could not likely achieve the Millennium Development Goals in key health areas-[under five mortality, maternal mortality and malaria prevalence] and environment [clean drinking water and sanitation].

It is an open secret that over 70% of Nigeria’s health problems are environmentally related, sadly, in spite of this glaring evidence and conviction that prevention is better than cure, they make sure greater emphasis is still being placed on curative health services, while simple and effective strategies like personal hygiene, food hygiene, and environmental sanitation are relegated to the background.

Those against or feel threaten of full environmental health practice feel that they may be render irrelevant, or the offices they are holding sway may be taken over, or the money they are making could be stop, are doing these for their selfish and pecuniary interest not for the development and progress of the nation health sector.

Globally, environmental health control is accepted as a major health component whether in public health or primary health care. If it is properly organized and implemented, it will improves longer survival, less disability, more efficient personal and social performance, and socio economic development. Why should Nigeria pay lip service to it in favour of costly and unpromising venture?

There is no valid reason[s] to be afraid of environmental health practice, for, the time has come for it recognition as inroad to public health intervention in Nigeria.

Environmental health practice is not a one man work; it is a multi-professional which includes the like of agriculturist, biochemists, disaster preparedness specialist, environmental biologist, toxicologist, environmental health officer, fire safety officers, geographers, hydro geologist, occupational health nurse, occupational health physician, sanitary engineer, etc. Therefore, environmental health must be planted on our national consciousness, discussed at major fora and placed on the national agenda,  this is the only way public health and safety can be guaranteed in this and the next generation.