Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) says it has put
measures in place to ensure dirt-free environment in 2019.
Officials of one of the AEPB waste evacuation contractors, on duty in Garki Area of Abuja
AEPB Head of Information and Outreach Unit, Mallam Muktar
Ibrahim, said this in an interview the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on
Sunday, January 6, 2019.
Ibrahim said that the measures aimed at ensuring a clean,
hygienic and sustainable environment in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“While wishing all residents of FCT a happy and prosperous
new year 2019, the AEPB is poised more than ever before to ensure a clean,
hygienic and sustainable environment in the FCT.
“To guarantee this, the board has put various measures in
place, including increased monitoring and enforcement activities by AEPB and
constant removal of all sundry nuisances across the city.
“In addition, the board is stepping up its intervention to
deal with any city cleaning contractors who is found wanting.
“This has achieved great results in the sense that they have
been put on their toes as any intervention carried out attracts deductions on
the erring contractor,’’ the information officer said.
He added that the board was working to expand its cleaning
contractors from 27 to 48 in the new contract.
“AEPB solicits the cooperation of residents to cultivate a
civilised attitude towards environmental cleanliness as the board will not
spare any one found to be working in cross purposes to AEPB mandates.
“We put strategies in place to ensure that the usual post
yuletide waste littered have been evacuated and reduced to the barest minimum.
“City cleaning contractors have been mobilised at short
notice to any area of perceived nuisances if there is a complaint from
concerned parties,’’ he said.
Ibrahim advised all residents to maintain environmental
cleanliness to achieve the FCTA’s vision of making Abuja one of the first-class
cities of the world.
According to him, AEPB advises all residents to ensure
proper disposal of waste through proper bagging.
“Residents should provide proper waste bins with lids for
waste collection and avoid throwing of waste out of vehicles.
“They should pay waste service charges to AEPB dedicated
revenue accounts displayed on the service bills and avoid any form of cash
payments which is recipe for fraud.
“They should also ensure proper connection of their properties
to AEPB managed central sewer lines and desist from patronising street
hawkers,’’ he said.
Ibrahim urged residents to report suspicious
persons/activities to the relevant agencies, including scavengers who have been
banned from operating within the city.
“They should fight against open defecation and avoid bush
burning to protect the environment.
“Residents are also advised to report all forms of
environmental pollution to the board for prompt attention.
`These include noise, air and water pollution from
loudspeakers, grinding machines which may result from using residential places
for commercial purposes,’’ Ibrahim said.
According to him, other forms of waste include burning of
hazardous materials that release poisonous fumes into the atmosphere.
He said that the board had rehabilitated several dilapidated
Roro bins to increase the number of available receptacles for waste collection
and minimise litter around waste collection points.
“In addition, AEPB has engaged an additional 300 enforcement
staff to boost its compliance mechanism.
`The FCT Administration has also regularised the employment
of 300 staff, cutting across the relevant departments of the board, especially
the Environmental Health and Safety.
“This will enhance the board’s capacity in inspecting
premises to check sundry nuisances,’’ he said.
A rainy spell early on Sunday, January 6, 2019 brought
better air to residents of New Delhi, giving them a brief respite from thick
grey smog that has shrouded the Indian capital for the last two months,
although air quality continued to be “very poor”.
As Delhi’s pollution levels rise to severe, the EPCA has directed governments to impose all conditions under the Graded Response Action Plan under severe category
A measure of tiny, hazardous breathable particles known as
PM 2.5 reached an average of 182 by 12 p.m., the Central Pollution Control
Board said, its lowest since Nov. 4.
But pollution was still five times more than a U.S.
government recommended level of 35 to stand at “unhealthy” levels, according to
the U.S. embassy.
“Change in weather conditions by rain or higher wind speed
helps dissipate peak pollution, but we continue to need strong emergency
actions such as shutting power plants,” said Anumita Roychowdhury of the Centre
for Science and Environment think-tank.
The Federal Government air quality index rated Delhi’s air
quality “very poor” on Sunday and had a similar forecast for Monday.
It urged people with respiratory and cardiac problems to
avoid polluted areas and limit outdoor movement.
A sharp drop in temperatures and wind speed over the last
two weeks, combined with vehicle and industrial emissions, dust from building
sites and smoke from garbage burning has stoked pollution over much of north
India.
Levels of PM 2.5, or particles smaller than 2.5 microns in
diameter, hit their highest last year at 450 on Dec. 23, 2018.
Despite the pollution, there is little sign Delhi’s 20
million residents are taking steps to protect themselves.
Activists say the apparent lack of concern gives politicians
the cover they need for not tackling the issue adequately.
The world appears to have taken an important step on the
road to drastically reduce the production and consumption of powerful greenhouse
gasses (GHGs) known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and limit global warming, with
the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer coming into force on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.
HFCs are described as the world’s fastest-growing climate pollutant and are used in air conditioners and refrigerators. Photo credit: Getty Images
If fully supported by governments, the private sector and
citizens, the Kigali Amendment will avoid up to 0.4°C of global warming this
century while continuing to protect the ozone layer, according to the UN Environment.
The body adds that the amendment will substantively contribute to the goals of
the Paris Agreement.
HFCs are organic compounds that contain fluorine and
hydrogen atoms, and are frequently used as refrigerants in air conditioners and
other devices as alternatives to ozone-depleting substances controlled under
the Montreal Protocol. While HFCs themselves do not deplete the ozone layer,
they are said to be extremely potent GHGs with global warming potentials that
can be many times higher than carbon dioxide.
The parties to the amendment have put in place practical
arrangements for its implementation, including agreements on technologies for
the destruction of HFCs and new data reporting requirements and tools. The
amendment comes with provisions for capacity-building for developing countries,
institutional strengthening and the development of national strategies to
reduce HFCs and replace them with alternatives. Phasing down HFCs under
the Kigali Amendment may also open a window to redesign cooling equipment that
is more energy efficient, further increasing the climate gains.
Implementation of new targets set out in the amendment will
be done in three phases, with a group of developed countries starting HFCs
phase-down from 2019. Developing countries will follow with a freeze of
HFCs consumption levels in 2024 and with a few countries freezing consumption
in 2028.
Ratified by 65 countries so far, the Kigali Amendment builds
on the historic legacy of the Montreal Protocol agreed in 1987. The Protocol
and its previous amendments, which require the phasing out of the production
and consumption of substances that cause ozone depletion, have been universally
ratified by 197 parties.
The broad support for and implementation of the Montreal
Protocol has led to the phase-out of more than 99 per cent of nearly 100
ozone-depleting chemicals and significantly contributed to climate change mitigation.
Evidence presented in the latest Scientific
Assessment of Ozone Depletion shows that the ozone layer in parts of
the stratosphere has recovered at a rate of 1-3% per decade since 2000. At
projected rates, Northern Hemisphere and mid-latitude ozone is scheduled to
heal completely by the 2030s followed by the Southern Hemisphere in the 2050s
and polar regions by 2060.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on
Friday, January 4, 2019 said its first five solar-powered safe water systems at
Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements in Bangladesh are delivering at their full
capacity with the aim to supply all refugees this way.
UNHCR spokesperson, Andrej Mahecic
“These new systems improve the daily supply of safe, clean
drinking water to Rohingya refugees living in crowded sites in Southeast
Bangladesh,’’ UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said at a UN briefing.
The project, funded by the UN agency, is part of a broader
shift in the humanitarian response toward the expanded use of green and
non-polluting technologies.
“The new safe water systems run entirely on electricity
generated through solar panels,’’ the spokesperson said, adding that UNHCR aims
to provide 20 litres of safe and clean water to each refugee daily.
Report says over 900,000 Rohingya refugees live across 36
different locations in Cox’s Bazar area.
Using solar energy has allowed the humanitarian community to
reduce energy costs and emissions.
The five new water networks, jointly completed by UNHCR and
its partners, are currently providing safe water to no fewer than 40,000
refugees.
A further 55,000 refugees will benefit as UNHCR
and its partner agencies are hoping to install nine more solar-powered water
networks across Kutapalong refugee camp in the coming year, at the cost of $10
million.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday, January 4,
2019 said there are now more than 600 confirmed or probable cases of Ebola in
Congo.
Health workers move to prevent Ebola spread
Most of the new cases occurred in cities and urban areas in
Eastern North Kivu province, where an Ebola outbreak was declared in August
2018.
Numerous militia groups are fighting for control over the
country’s rich natural resources in the province, hampering efforts to combat
the epidemic in the impoverished nation.
“Mass protests that erupted in recent days over a delay in
Congo’s presidential elections have also frustrated the work of aid officials.
“A hospital was attacked in city of Beni, for example, which
resulted in fewer Ebola vaccines being handed out,’’ the WHO said.
The health agency added that a further deterioration in
security would undermine the fight against the life-threatening haemorrhagic
fever.
“According to the latest figures, 560 cases of Ebola have
been confirmed and 48 other cases are considered likely.
“This Ebola outbreak is the second-worst ever recorded,’’
the WHO said.
An Ebola outbreak ravaging Eastern areas of the Democratic
Republic of Congo has claimed several hundred lives.
The Federal Government says it will reclaim all land lost to
gully erosion and assist flood-prone communities in the country.
Residents steer a dugout canoe past flooded houses following heavy rain in the Nigerian town of Lokoja, in Kogi State, on September 14, 2018. Photo credit: AFP / Sodiq Adelakun
The information is in a statement issued by Mr AbdulGaniyu
Aminu, the Head of Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology
(FMST).
Aminu stated that the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr
Obgonnaya Onu, made the disclosure at the launch of gully erosion control works
at Okwohia, Obowo/Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of Imo on Thursday.
He quoted the minister as saying that the intervention of
Federal Government would usher a huge relief to the Okwohia community which had
for long been devastated by ecological challenges.
Onu said “the approval of the project is a clear testimony
to the present administration’s resolve to ensure that no part of the country will
be allowed to suffer any neglect due to geographical location.
“To further consolidate on the gains of this stride, the
Federal Government’s execution of projects across the country also demonstrates
the sincerity of purpose of APC-led administration toward promoting equity and
fair play to all and sundry.”
According to him, the project will improve the standard of
living of the community and its environs.
He added that the project would at the same time reduce the
danger posed to lives and property associated with erosion and persistent
flooding experienced in recent times.
He affirmed that Federal Government would continue to
implement genuine government policies, agreements and contracts at both
national and international levels that were aimed at laying solid foundation for
virile and prosperous nation.
The Permanent Secretary, Ecological fund Office, Dr Habiba
Lawal, said that the project was initiated through a request for an urgent
intervention forwarded to the Ecological Fund Office.
She explained that the request was forwarded by Sen.
Benjamin Uwajumobi representing the Imo North District at the upper chamber of
the National Assembly.
Lawal, who was represented by Mr Mathias Eluma, said that
the launch and hand over of the project to the benefiting community would enable
the people to take over and ensure its maintenance and sustainability.
The FADAMA III Project in Jigawa says it has given various farm inputs to no fewer than 15,000 farmers in the state in 2018.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh
Alhaji Aminu Isa, the Project Coordinator in the state,
disclosed this to newsmen in Dutse, the capital city, on Friday, January 4,
2019.
He said the beneficiaries consisted of 14,287 males and 713
females that produced rice and sorghum.
“Some 232 production clusters were registered under the project
with 163 as rice production clusters and 397 sorghum production clusters.
“The clusters consisted of 1,500 production groups with
1,103 as rice production groups and 397 sorghum production groups.
“1,500 business plans, with 1,103 for rice production and
397 for sorghum production, were developed by 232 production clusters with 163
for rice production clusters and 69 for sorghum production clusters.
“Of the 1,500 business plans, 1,137 business plans representing
75.8 per cent were approved and fully implemented with 787 for rice and 350 for
sorghum,’’ Isa said.
He said that the farmers were supported with 38,500 kg of
rice seeds, 105,000 kg of sorghum seeds and 1,760,000 kg of assorted
fertilisers.
“68,670 litres of Agro-chemicals were given to both rice and
sorghum production groups; 3,655 water pumps and 3,393 sprayers were also
provided.
“680 tube wells and 6,466 wash bores were drilled,’’ the
project coordinator disclosed.
According to him, 44 rice milling machines were given to 16
production groups, 48 bags of paddy rice were distributed to women and youth
agro-processing groups as starter for operations.
Isa added that 19 tricycles, 17 power tillers were also
given to nine youth groups and 25 sorghum milling machines were given to
production groups, which comprised seven women and five youth groups.
According to Isa, 61 thrasher machines were given to 50
production clusters and six production groups, comprising four youth and two
women groups.
“548 smart farmers were used to train the beneficiaries on
improved agricultural practices.
“Also, 480 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) were given to
125 rice production clusters, 68 sorghum production clusters and 47 processing
groups,’’ the coordinator said.
Isa said that when compared with the 2017 yields, the farm
input support led to a noticeable increase in yield level.
The war against malaria has been on for long, but still
seems far from ending as malaria remains endemic and life-threatening in
developing countries including Nigeria.
Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole
Medical experts blame malaria prevalence on several factors including inadequate funds, drug counterfeiting, malaria resistance to drugs, mosquito’s resistance to insecticides and global warming.
Analysts also identified dearth of research into malaria
cure, as a major factor.
Mr Chukwu Okoronkwo, Head, Advocacy, Communication and Social
Mobilisation, National Malaria Elimination Programme, Federal Ministry of
Health, is worried that although some donor-agencies have strongly supported
malaria elimination, Nigeria still has huge gaps.
“Quite a lot of donor-partners are supporting malaria elimination
in the country, but we still have huge gaps, which is why malaria is still
endemic in Nigeria.
“We are appealing to more donor-agencies to come in;
governments should also increase their funding for malaria elimination,’’
Okoronkwo says.
According to the World Malaria Report 2017, Nigeria
contributes 27 per cent of the global 216 million malaria cases and 24 per cent
of the 445,000 deaths due to malaria annually.
This means that about three of 10 persons suffering malaria
in the world live in Nigeria, while one of four deaths from malaria globally
occurs in Nigeria.
According to analysts, Nigeria’s annual record of over 54
million malaria cases in the last three years gives room for concern and the
need for wider research to find innovative ways to reduce the burden.
The 2015 National Malaria Indicator Survey shows that the
North West has 37 per cent prevalence rate, North Central 32 per cent, North
East 26 per cent, South South 19 per cent, South West 17 per cent, and South
East 14 per cent.
The World Health Organisation believes that advanced
research efforts, sustained financing and political will are among major
strategies that can be applied to win the war against malaria.
Dr Sam Awolola, Deputy Director and Head, Malaria Research
Programme, Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), is of the opinion that
contributions of African governments to malaria research funding is low
compared with the burden of the disease.
“Today, Africa still harbours the burden of the disease.
Yet, funding for malaria research is donor-dependent.
“The statistics of funding malaria research by African
governments is precarious and the Nigerian situation is pathetic.
“An assessment of funding malaria at NIMR from 2007 to 2016
shows shocking statistics with above 80 per cent provided through external
support, while Nigerian Government through the Federal Ministry of Health
offered less than seven per cent.
“If we ignore the responsibilities of today, we cannot elude
the challenges of tomorrow,” he warns.
Awolola notes that despite the low funding, malaria has been
a topical issue for some Nigerian researchers, some of whom, he said have made
some impacts.
An epidemiologist from the University of Ibadan, Prof.
Ikeoluwapo Ajayi, who carried out a research in collaboration with two others
on “Improving Home and Community Management of Malaria: Providing the Evidence
Base,’’ says findings from the research show that non-medical people can handle
community and home management of malaria in children, if well selected and trained.
“We were able to get to the community and reach out to
mothers, the caregivers, who would usually do something when their children are
sick.
“We were able to understand their practices and perception
of illness.
“We were able to engage them in getting to know early
symptoms of malaria, what to do when a child has fever and the right drug and
dose to give to such a child.
“One unique thing is that we actually trained some members
of a community chosen by the community to take up the management of these
children whenever they fall ill with malaria fever,’’ he says.
Ajayi, a Public Health Consultant, carried out the research in
collaboration with Prof. Bidemi Yusuf, a Medical Statistician, and Prof.
Ayodele Jegede, Health Scientist, both also from the University of Ibadan.
He says engaging such non-medical people will reduce delay
in taking children to hospitals as well as reduce cases of severe malaria,
while those with uncomplicated malaria will get treated.
“The community medicine distributors we trained even went on
to diagnose malaria using the Rapid Diagnostic Test, which many people think
that lay people should not be allowed to use or may not be able to use.
“We have been able to prove that if lay people who are well
selected and trained are given the opportunity, they can actually perform this
role.’’
According to Ajayi, performing this function at the
community level does not mean that the selected and trained community members
are taking up the job of health workers.
“They are just complementing the work of the health
workforce for our children not to die at home as a result of delayed treatment
or not having money.
“This is because throughout the programme, the drugs were
given free or at a subsidised rate.
“The research was done in the South West, and we have handed
over our findings to the National Malaria Elimination Programme.
“We believe that they will make use of the findings to scale
up community and home management of malaria in children in Nigeria and reduce
morbidity and mortality from malaria,” Ajayi says.
Prof. Olugbenga Mokuolu of the University of Ilorin notes
that there is the need for better understanding of what is responsible for
malaria resistance to the currently recommended Artemisinin compounds.
Mokuolu conducted a research on “Multifaceted Efforts at
Malaria Control in Research: Management of Malaria of Various Grades and
Mapping Artemisinin Resistance’’.
He is optimistic that his submission made impressive
contributions in the area of management of severe malaria and monitoring of
molecular markers of Artemisinin resistance.
According to him, detection of molecular markers of
resistance to any chemotherapeutic drug provides the earliest evidence of
emerging resistance before manifestation of clinical failure.
The consultant paediatrician and malaria treatment expert is
convinced that the understanding is essential since efforts in malaria
treatment will be wasted if resistance is not curtailed.
“Though the current malaria statistics are scary, they have
reduced significantly from where we used to be.
“Therefore, we must not allow resistance to make us to lose
our previous gains; that is why it is important to have a mapping of
Artemisinin resistance that can help us to continue to curtail the spread and
reverse any adverse action stemming from that,’’ he says.
For Dr Chukwuma Agubata, a pharmacist and lecturer,
ineffective drug delivery is a major hindrance to malaria treatment.
Agubata, who teaches in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, developed novel lipid microparticles
for effective delivery of Artemether anti-malarial drug, using (ogbono) a
locally-sourced irvingia fat from the nuts of Irvingia gabonensis var excelsa
grown in Nigeria.
He conducted a research on ‘`Novel Lipid Microparticles for
Effective Delivery of Artemether Anti-Malaria Drug Using a Locally-Sourced
Irvingia Fat from Nuts of Irvingia
Gabonensis Var Excelsa (Ogbono).
Agubata believes his work demonstrates productive scientific
research by identifying the potency of the use of “ogbono” oil to ensure well
absorption of antimalaria drugs.
He says good absorption will lead to high blood levels which
in turn will increase cure rates and reduce the chances of resistance.
“Malaria is an endemic disease and a major cause of
morbidity and mortality; we also know that most malaria drugs are administered
by mouth – the Artemether Anti-Malaria drugs.
“But there is a major challenge which is the low water
solubility of the drug which limits it dissolution and absorption into the
blood stream; this affects the efficacy of the drug.
“What we have done in this research is to improve the
anti-malaria efficacy of Artemether drugs by formulating with Irvingia Fat
(Ogbono) which is locally-sourced so that there can be improved delivery and
efficacy.
“In our research, we got very good results, and this shows
that our local materials can actually improve the efficacy of some drugs that
already exist,’’ he argues.
The researcher explains that the Ogbono was formulated as
micro particles, where the fat from it was used to trap the drug so that it
becomes a carrier of the drug to the blood stream.
“So, if you take Ogbono soup while taking Artemether, there
should be an improvement as it will assist the drug to pass through all the
barriers to get to its destination in the body and start working properly.’’
Agubata calls for support from governments and private
organisations to take the research to the next level.
“We intend to take this research to the next level with the
support of corporate organisations and governments.
“We will be able to do local mobilisation and mass produce
the locally-sourced materials so that Nigerians will benefit.
“There is hope in reducing the burden of malaria with this
research,’’ he says.
Analysts urge scaling up of research into malaria cure to
get Nigeria to the next level in its fight against the scourge.
Environmentalists claim that million metric tonnes of
plastic pollute the environment annually with little effort at making the world
free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, waterways,
oceans and the environment.
Plastic pollution
An environmentalist, Mr Richard Inyamkume, therefore, calls
on the government and other stakeholders to intensify campaign against plastic
pollution in the country.
Inyamkume, Senior Programme Officer, Climate Change
Mitigation and Adaptation Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, said
that government and other stakeholders needed to intensify campaign to change
public attitude and behaviour towards the use and disposal of plastics.
He said that government and citizens should evolve practical
strategies that would reduce the menace of plastic waste in communities.
“There are many ways of addressing environmental issues of
this nature; one way is to raise advocacy that will change public attitudes and
behaviour towards the use and disposal of plastics’’, he said.
Inyamkume said that other methods of tackling the
environmental issue involved public activism and legislation.
“I believe in change of attitude as it can increase public
consciousness about the impact of plastics on the environment, while prompting
alternative considerations for the use of plastics in the country.
“A campaign against improper plastic waste disposal can
begin in the home-setting before going into the streets; it should make high
impact and encourage plastics re-use, re-cycling and substitution,’’ he said.
He, however, underscored the need for the citizens to
understand their specific roles in the campaign for a plastics-free
environment.
He noted that citizens should also be encouraged to organise
regular community clean-up activities to clear plastic waste.
“Besides, government and policymakers ought to review
national legislation and policies so as to discourage the production of single-use
disposable plastic materials while encouraging the production and importation
of environment-friendly products.
“The World Environmental Day is set to address plastic
pollution which has been a serious environmental concern among other issues.
“Plastic pollution occurs where plastic materials are
indiscriminately dumped in an area in such a way that it begins to impact
negatively on the ecosystem,” he said.
He said that the global community was planning to achieve
clean, sustainable and pollution-free cities by 2030 and as such, efforts were
underway to address plastic pollution.
Inyamkume observed that plastic pollution in Nigeria was increasing
due to the proliferation of plastics producing factories and a corresponding
increase in the demand for plastic materials by the public.
“There ought to be enough public awareness or sensitisation
on the proper methods of disposing of plastics to prevent its consequences such
as plastic pollution mostly in urban and commercial areas.
“Dumped plastic bags, water bottles, straws, cups, utensils,
dry cleaning bags, take-away containers and disposable plastic materials
constitute.
“If not properly managed, plastic waste could affect life on
land and in oceans or rivers; and as a concerned environmentalist, I think there
is need for concerted efforts to address plastic pollution globally,’’ he said.
In his view, Mr David Michael, the Executive Director,
Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation, a
non-governmental organisation, called for a total ban on single-use plastics if
they could not be re-used or re-cycled.
He said that because plastic pollution had been a serious
environmental menace all over the world, the organisation decided to organise
the neighbourhood clean-up, in collaboration with the students of Government
Secondary School, Jabi, Abuja, to sensitise the students to the importance of managing
used plastic materials.
“Plastics here in the Jabi community run off to Jabi Lake.
If you see the quantity of plastics in Jabi Lake, you will never believe it.
“That is why we chose this community that is very close to
Jabi Lake because all the wastes of the residents flow to the lake; we want the
students to understand that it is important to dispose of waste efficiently.
“We are also saying that you can re-use any plastic
materials because single-use plastic materials are contaminating the environment.
“We are advocating for a total ban of single use of plastic
materials in Nigeria because plastics do not decay; they remain in the soil,
river and ocean for years,’’ he said.
Michael also urged producers of plastic packages to use
bio-degradable materials such as paper bags and leaf to package consumables.
He said that the production of paper bags would boost
people’s interest in tree planting, while creating jobs for chemical engineers
and other Nigerians.
Miss Clara Okpala, a student of Government Secondary School,
Jabi, underscored the need to ban the production and utilisation of single-use
plastics because whenever plastic waste got into rivers, it harmed and killed
the fish and other marine creatures.
Martins Obi, another student of the school, said that
plastic waste, because of its inability to decompose, often blocked water
channels, thereby causing floods which displaced people from their homes.
In the same vein, Oyedepo Joshua, a student of Government
Science and Technical College, Garki, said that the re-use of plastics would
assist in the efforts to address plastic pollution in the country.
Similarly, Master Vincent Davies, a student of Model
Secondary School, Maitama, called for the erection of waste bin stands to
promote healthy environment.
Davies said that indiscriminate dumping of used nylon and
plastics had been rampant on the school premises.
Expressing concern about plastic pollution, Mr Sunday
Agbontaen, the Head of Reservoir and Production Department, FCT Water Board
Lower Usuma Dam, said that the dam was spending additional cost to evacuate the
pollutants embedded by the side of the dam.
Agbontaen, nonetheless, said that a new plant would be
designed to address the emerging pollutants such as plastics, steels and other
pollutant substances.
According to him, pollutants coming from Mpape community of
Abuja have increased the cost of water treatment.
“But all the same, that is why we have the treatment plant
to eliminate the pollutants in the water.
“That is why when the water comes in, even at the catchment
area up the Mpape zone, we monitor the water quality.
“When it comes to the plant, we also monitor non-water
quality. That will now give us the standard of what type of treatment the water
will go through.
“So, in the treatment process, we will be able to understand
that this amount of pollutant is higher in the water.
“We need the number of chemicals to treat it in accordance
to World Health Organisation and Nigeria Standard Organisation,’’ he said.
Giving an insight to government’s commitment to ridding
Nigeria of plastic wastes, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, the immediate past Minister
of State for Environment, said that the Federal Government was working on a
national policy on plastic waste management.
Jibril said that the policy was to regulate use and disposal
of plastic waste in the country, noting that the Federal Ministry of
Environment in collaboration with critical stakeholders had also developed a
national strategy for the phase-out of non-bio-gradable plastics.
According to him, the ministry is also developing a national
plastic waste recycling programme, to establish plastic waste recycling plants
across the country in partnership with state governments.
“At present, a total of eight plants have already been
completed and handed over to the states while 18 others are at various stages
of completion.
“In addition, the Federal Government is also collaborating
with state governments to establish plastic waste recycling plants on the
platform of community-based waste management programme in the ministry.
“Two plants have been completed in Ilorin, one in Lokoja,
while work on another is ongoing in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa
State, Bola Jari in Gombe State and Leda Jari in Kano State,’’ Jibril said.
He also said that the establishment of the plants would assist
to turn waste to wealth and ensure the sustainability of the environment.
The minister, therefore, solicited the support of the media
to educate Nigerians on the effects of plastic pollution and the need to
reduce, reuse and recycle plastics.
As part of efforts to boost India’s campaign against open
defecation and its sanitation coverage, Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra
Modi launched the “Swachh Bharat’’ Mission on Oct. 2, 2014.
Suleiman Adamu Kazaure, Water Resources Minister
The five-year “Swachh Bharat’’ (Clean India) project was conceived
and executed as a fitting tribute to India’s founding father, Mahatma Gandhi,
on his 150th birth anniversary.
Since the inception of the “Swachh Bharat’’
project, over 9,13,74,190 household toilets have been constructed across
the Asian country.
Current statistics indicate that 27, out of the 29 states of
India, are now Open Defecation-Free (ODF), with no fewer than 540,860 ODF
communities.
Stakeholders in the environment sector, therefore, believe
that Nigeria’s anti- open defecation campaign will be more successful and
purposeful if the country can adopt strategies that are akin to those of the
“Clean India’’ mission.
A major feature of the Indian anti-open defecation campaign
entails the construction of household and community toilets as well as the
establishment of a good mechanism for monitoring toilet use.
With a population of 182 million, Nigeria is Africa’s
largest country and one of the fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan
Africa. On the economic front, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has
quadrupled between 2005 and 2015.
Experts, nonetheless, moan that the rapid economic growth of
Nigeria has not translated into rapid poverty reduction, thereby making the
nation to lag in the accumulation of physical and human capital, even as poor
access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services remains a big
challenge.
It is, however, true that the whole sub-Saharan Africa
region has limited access to WASH services, but the experts insist that
Nigeria’s levels of access lag far behind those of other peer countries.
According to them, this is because 57 million people
in Nigeria continue to live without access to improved water supply, while
130 million people rely on unimproved sanitation facilities.
Alarmingly, a large body of evidence suggests that limited
or no access to WASH services has several damaging effects on human
development outcomes.
For instance, it adversely affects individuals’ health,
limits their access to educational and economic opportunities, while
hampering their work efficiency and productivity.
The situation has somewhat compelled stakeholders to declare
that Nigeria’s sanitation sector is in a precarious state, as the country has
failed to meet the sanitation targets of the UN Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), thus witnessing an overall decline in access to improved sanitation.
The National Action Plan for Revitalisation of Nigeria’s
WASH Sector reveals that at the national level, there has been a decrease
of 9 percentage points in access to improved sanitation.
The plan states that access to improved sanitation decreased
from 38 per cent in 1990 to 29 percent in 2015, while the people’s access to
improved sanitation in urban and rural neighbourhoods, which both stood at 38
percent in 1990, decreased to 33 percent in urban areas and 25 percent in rural
areas in 2015.
“Approximately 46 million Nigerians — 25 percent of the
country’s population — practise open defecation.
“At the national level, open defecation rates remained
relatively stable, with an increase of 1 percentage point during the
25-year period.
“However, open defecation more than doubled in urban
areas — from 7 per cent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2015,’’ the document said.
These alarming statistics, perhaps, compelled President
Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the WASH sector on Nov. 8,
2018, as part of calculated efforts to galvanise action and investments in the
sector.
The declaration comes amid rising concerns that Nigeria has
been falling behind, in terms of the citizens’ access to water and sanitation.
“The declaration means that there is political will, at the
highest level, to commit more investment and encourage the states – the main
targets of the initiative — to follow suit and prioritise WASH projects,”
Buhari said at the launch of the action plan.
The Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu,
said that the state of emergency, which was expected to last for 18 months,
signalled the onset of a 13-year National WASH Action Plan.
He warned that if India was able to exit from its number one
position among countries practising open defecation by the middle of 2019, it
would be a “national shame” for Nigeria to still remain on the list of those
countries.
“I was in India recently and the country has been mobilised
on the issues of sanitation and open defecation. It is a civil responsibility
on all of us.
“Three years ago, only 40 per cent of Indians were using
toilets; now, 95 per cent of Indians are practising full sanitation practices.
“They have not only stopped to defecate in the open, they
are also re-cycling their waste products; they have undergone a lot of
transformation within three years.
“In the last three years, they have built 80 million
toilets; we need this kind of quantum leap in our country.
“By next year (2019), wherever you go in the world, you may
hear that Nigeria is number one among open defecation countries, and that is a
national shame which we must not allow to happen,’’ he said.
The minister, however, said that the Federal Government
would soon enter technical cooperation with India to address the Nigerian
situation.
He described the recent launch of the National Action Plan
for Revitalisation of the WASH Sector by President Buhari as a new
beginning in the country’s efforts to attain an open defecation-free status.
Adamu noted that the action plan would bring about
purposeful collaboration in all activities aimed at boosting access to potable
water, sanitation and hygiene for all Nigerians, with a renewed commitment
towards achieving open defecation free nation by 2025.
“If this is not done, we stand the chance of taking the
centre-stage of open defecation countries when India would have exited by
mid-2019,” he said.
Besides, the minister said that the Federal Government was
setting up a WASH Fund to pool and increase resources for the WASH sector and
the funding of WASH projects.
He underscored the need for greater collaboration with the
private sector so as to improve performance, insisting that the federal and
state governments could not do it alone.
Nevertheless, Mr Zaid Jurji, Chief of WASH for UNICEF, said
that 122,000 Nigerians, including 87,000 children below the age of five years,
died from diarrhoea every year; blaming nearly 90 per cent of the deaths on the
dearth of WASH facilities.
“Without toilets, the people are left with the option of
defecating in the open, an act that leads to exposure to diseases such as
diarrhoea, cholera, viral hepatitis, typhoid, polio and dysentery,’’ he said.
He urged the Federal Government to accomplish the goals of
its action plan on the WASH sector by increasing its budget for the water and
sanitation sector.
Jurji pledged that UNICEF would continue to support those
projects that were particularly targeted at reaching underserved communities
across the country.
Similarly, Dr Priscilla Achakpa, the National Coordinator,
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaboration Council (WSSCC) Nigeria, said that
the government at all levels should show pragmatic commitment to executing the
action plan on the WASH sector.
According to her, Nigeria, being a signatory to the UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), must ensure that it demonstrates enough
political will to change the current narratives on its WASH sector.
Sharing similar sentiments, Dr Aniagolu-Okoye, the Country
Director of WaterAid, underscored the need for the government to demonstrate a
strong political will in efforts to address the water and sanitation crises
facing Nigerians.
“With one in three Nigerians without clean water, and two in
three Nigerians without decent household sanitation, our expectation is that
state governments will follow suit by developing action plans to address the
water and sanitation crises in their respective states.”
She said that poor sanitation was estimated to have cost affected
countries the equivalent of 0.9 per cent of their GDP and “in Nigeria, this
amounts to $3.38 billion a year.’’
All in all, experts believe that Nigeria can improve
the health, education and economic outcomes for its poor and vulnerable
populations via a purposeful implementation of the National Action Plan for the
Revitalisation of the WASH Sector.
They insist that several countries have demonstrated the
fact that the adoption of pragmatic plans to expand the people’s access to improved
WASH facilities would inevitably boost the living standards of the citizens.
They, therefore, urge the government to invest more
resources in promoting the wellbeing of its citizens – the greatest asset of
the country.
