The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it will commence vaccination against yellow fever in Borno State as part of effort toward eliminating the disease in the country.
A WHO team carrying out measles vaccination campaign at internally displaced people’s camp in Nigeria
Field Communication Officer of the organisation, Mr Chima Omiekwe, who disclosed this to newsmen on Friday, February 2, 2018 in Maiduguri, said the campaign would commence on Tuesday, Feb. 6 and end on Feb. 14, 2018.
Omiekwe said that the exercise would be conducted in 288 political wards across the 25 local government areas in the state.
He explained that the campaign was aimed at reducing yellow fever transmission in line with the strategy to eliminate Yellow Fever in 2026.
He said that the target groups were between nine months to 45 years, especially among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Omiekwe said that no fewer than 3,000 health workers, opinion leaders, community leaders and primary teachers would be involved in the process, particularly in surveillance.
According to him, the surveillance component will enable stakeholders to rapidly detect, investigate and respond to any suspected or confirmed case of yellow fever.
“The first phase of the campaign will be conducted in some designated camps and host communities in Jere, Konduga, MMC and Mafa councils.
“We are focusing on the IDPs because of the risk assessment in camps. As you know, a lot of these IDPs are living in bad sanitary conditions.
“They are living in an environment that is prone to diseases,” he said.
He stated that about one million doses of vaccine would be administered during the period.
Gum arabic farmers in Yobe State have urged the federal and northern state governments to establish gum arabic plantations to improve revenue generation and control desert encroachment in the north.
Gum arabic plantation
Alhaji Jafaru Ayuba, spokesman of the farmers, made the call on Friday, February 2, 2018 in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu, the state capital.
Ayuba said the crop had huge economic potentials to improve local revenue generation and contribute largely to the economy of the states.
“There is a duty on government to invest and encourage gum arabic farming to diversify revenue generation, create employment opportunities and effectively combat desertification.
“Gum arabic crop has strong resistance to the arid weather; the plantations will form shelter belts to effectively fight desert encroachment and safeguard the ecosystem.
The spokesman explained that the crop had great global market value adding, “it is used in paints and as preservatives in food and drinks among several other uses.”
Ayuba said the north had favourable climate for the cultivation of the crop and government should provide the farmers with improved seeds and ensure the marketing of the product to enhance massive production.
“The Sudan variety which is rich in yields has been experimented upon here with great yields.
“Government should subsidise the production of gum arabic to encourage more farmers into production,” he said.
Greater ambition to divest from fossil fuel investments and consistent climate action is needed from the global investor community to accelerate the move towards a low-carbon economy and a climate-resilient future, top UN officials said at a major investor summit in New York this week.
Delegates at the forum
More than 450 investor, company and capital market leaders convened at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 to map out the next steps for increased action on climate change.
“While we see divestment from fossil fuel assets at more than $5 trillion, last year, the global community invested another £825 billion in fossil fuel use. Once again, your voice and the actions you take will speed the pace with which countries improve the consistency and alignment of their approach,” said United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed.
Stressing the significance of the Paris Climate Change Agreement as a vehicle for transformation, Ms. Mohammed said the agreement provided a roadmap for ambitious and cooperative global action, bringing various stakeholders together and generating momentum to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bold action is now needed by policy makers, regulators and the market to ensure that the Paris Agreement goals are realized and to address the growing barriers to sustainable development.
“Divesting from carbon intensive assets and aligning with the goals of the Paris Agreement is a complex realignment. Your voices need to be clear with regulators, central bankers, finance ministers, board rooms and C-suites for the gathering momentum to continue to gather pace and to become a truly global phenomenon,” she said.
United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, also underlined the importance of investors in accelerating the flow of finance for global climate action. “Governments need to know that the financial element to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement is going to be delivered. It cannot only be public money. There is a major role for investors to play,” she said.
In parallel to the key role of national governments, local governments and cities and provinces in reducing carbon emissions, stronger climate action is required by the private sector and investors to achieve the central goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit the rise of global average temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Concrete Climate Action Announcements Made at the New York Investor Summit
In a move to guide investors worldwide to increase investments in low-carbon technologies, a diverse group of investors and seven partner organizations –Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, CDP, Ceres, Investor Group on Climate Change, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, Principles for Responsible Investment and UNEP Finance Initiative – joined hands to launch the Investor Agenda at the Summit.
The agenda is designed for the global investor community to accelerate and scale up the actions that are critical to tackling climate change and achieving the Paris Agreement goals. It will identify actions that investors can take in four key areas: Investment, Corporate Engagement, Investment Disclosure and Policy Advocacy.
Other concrete announcements made at the Summit added to the growing momentum of global investors taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the transition to a low-carbon economy. For example, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced a $2 billion increase to the New York State Common Retirement Fund’s low emissions equities index at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk in New York, raising the fund’s sustainable investment portfolio to $7 billion.
The Fund – the third largest public pension fund in the US with estimated assets of over $200 billion – has an index that excludes or reduces holdings in the worst carbon emitters and shifts investments to lower emitting corporations. The latest announcement is aimed at boosting investments in to companies that are working towards lowering their global greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said the City would take steps to divest its pension funds from fossil fuels. La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada’s second largest pension fund, also committed to increasing its low-carbon investments by 50% by 2020, representing more than $8 billion in new investment. And, in Europe, AXA, the world’s largest insurer, set a target to reach $14.7 billion in low-carbon investments by 2020.
The United Nations, together with partner organisations and governments, says it is helping refugees use clean energy for cooking, lighting and communicating by providing access to funding for such facilities in refugee camps.
Renewable energy: A Solar Energy System at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo credit: UNIFIL
Above all, deploying clean cook stoves that do not rely on dirty energy is an essential component of meeting emissions goals worldwide and is an important measure to protect the health of refugees. In addition, clean cook stoves prevent deforestation which occurs when refugees collect firewood. And clean energy – notably solar – is cheaper to use than fossil fuels.
“Energy providers don’t tend to think of refugees as potential energy consumers, but the opportunities to build a relationship with them are huge,” says Mattia Vianello, one of the authors of “Prices, Products and Priorities: Meeting Refugees’ Energy Needs in Burkina Faso and Kenya”, a recent survey by the Moving Energy Initiative (MEI) focused on the benefits of clean energy for refugees.
The UN’s Safe Access to Fuels and Energy (SAFE) Program, launched in 2014, brings sustainable fuels and efficient cooking solutions to refugee camps and impoverished communities around the world.
In the first two years alone, the programme provided some 175,000 refugees in 10 countries with 150,000 with solar-powered lanterns and installed 2,000 solar-powered street lights in households and communal areas.
According to the report by MEI, a significant number of refugees desire cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, but many lack the financial resources required.
UN Works With Private Sector to Build Solar-Powered Camp
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is helping to improve the quality of life for refugees and to lower global greenhouse gas emissions by bringing sustainable energy access to displaced persons through partnerships with the private sector, while saving money with solar technology. Last year, UNHCR and the IKEA Foundation partnered to launch the first solar-powered refugee camp in Jordan.
The 2-megawatt plant will produce 3.6 million kilowatt-hours per year, saving 2,370 tons of CO2 emissions – equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 65,568 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.
“The world’s first solar farm in a refugee camp signals a paradigm shift in how the humanitarian sector supports displaced populations. UNHCR Jordan will save millions of dollars, while reducing carbon emissions and improving living conditions for some of the world’s most vulnerable children and families”, says Per Heggenes, CEO of the IKEA Foundation.
An Iranian tanker that sank following a deadly collision in December in the East China Sea is likely to remain at the bottom of the ocean, Chinese officials said on Thursday, February 1, 2018.
The Iranian tanker sank following a deadly collision in December in the East China Sea
Report says the oil tanker, named Sanchi, is currently lying at the sea bed about 150 metres below the surface, some 300 kilometres east of Shanghai.
“In spite of having burned at the surface for about a week before exploding and sinking, Sanchi still holds some of the condensate it had been carrying, which is a type of fuel more flammable than crude oil.
“There was also engine oil on board, Zhi Guanglu, director of the Transportation Ministry’s emergency office, said.
Zhi said that due to the tanker’s position, weight, water currents and temperature, it is unlikely that it will be lifted to the surface.
He, however, said that the Chinese Government might send divers “if the conditions allow.”
“No more bodies have been found,’’ the official said.
Of the tanker’s 32 crew members, of whom 30 were Iranians and two were Bangladeshis, three bodies were found in December.
A media report said all crew members had been declared dead by the Iranian authorities.
“The oil slick on the water surface measured about 30 square kilometres on Jan. 28,’’ Huo Chuanlin, deputy director of environmental protection at the State Oceanic Administration, said after covering some 332 square km a week before.
Jin Zuowen, head of the Chinese Coast Guard’s department of marine environmental protection, said some of the oil had been cleaned up, but some had dispersed.
Some motorists and passengers plying the Lekki-Ajah Highway in Lagos State on Thursday,February 1, 2018 expressed mixed feelings over the increase in the tolls at Lekki and Ikoyi Link Bridge Toll Plazas by the by the Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC) .
The Lekki-Ajah Road toll plaza
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the company had last Monday announced an upward review of toll fees adding that they would take effect from Feb. 1.
The LCC said that the increment was due to current economic and business realities that had impacted on the cost of servicing the company’s loan obligations.
It said that it took the decision following an “extensive consultations held with stakeholders in the Eti-Osa/Lekki-Epe Expressway of Lagos State.”
NAN reports that commercial buses and motorcycles plying the axis now pay N100 as against N80 on each trip while those with e-tag now pay N90.
Saloon cars and tricycles now pay N200 per trip as against the former N120, those with e-tag pay N180; SUVs, mini-vans, light pick-up trucks now pay N400 and N360 for those with e-tag.
Every non-commercial bus with maximum capacity of 26 seats pays N1,000 and N900 with e-tag; and motorcycles with 200cc capacity and above now pay N200 and N180 for those with e-tag.
The state government initially halted the proposed tariff increase on Dec. 5, 2017.
Some of the road users told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the increase would increase hardship while others believed the increase was in line with current economic realities.
Mrs Jane Alichi, an interior decorator in Ikoyi, appealed to the state government to consider the economic situation in the country and look for other avenues to absorb the cost.
“Government should help the masses. They should be making deliberate efforts to cushion the effect of the economic hardship now,” she said.
A civil servant who lives on the Lekki-Ajah axis, Mr Ehijimeto Modu, appealed to the state government to improve the efficiency of the alternative route for motorists.
“They (government) should fulfil their promise to people who live on the axis that they will create alternative routes on the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
“They have left the alternative route ineffective to force all of us to be using the toll gate. Now they have increased the toll, it is not fair at all,” he told NAN.
An ICT expert in Lekki, Mrs Unera Markus urged government to consider the wages of road users before embarking on increment of the tolls.
“They used our tax to construct that road, so what is the operational cost they are talking about?
“Have they increased salaries? They just want to punish the masses,” she told NAN.
Miss Bibi Chuka, a student of the Lagos State Polytechnic said that the increase would result in hike in transportation fares on the axis.
“In Lagos State of today, transportation cost is already high. I am not in support of the increase because transporters will use that as an excuse to charge more,” she said.
However, an engineer, Mr Gbenga Akinlolu, said that any increase that would guarantee efficiency of service delivery was good.
“The margin of the increase should not be much considering the kind of services they render.
“The current economic realities call for a review. The services they render on the axis are enormous such that if your vehicle breaks down the LCC personnel assist you.
“They also provide security and those accompanying services come at a cost.
“I expected them to consult with the transporters and other stakeholders before the review,” Akinlolu said.
The Second Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Bamako Convention (COP2) held from Tuesday, January 30 to Thursday, February 1, 2018 in Abidjan, the capital city of Cote d’Ivoire.
The conference had “The Bamako Convention: a platform for a pollution-free Africa” as its theme.
COP2 provided a platform for African nations to discuss ways and means of ensuring that the continent rids itself of hazardous wastes and contribute to the achievement of a pollution-free planet.
The Convention is a treaty of African nations prohibiting the importation of any hazardous (including radioactive) waste into the continent.
The Bamako Convention, which came into force in 1998, is a response to Article 11 of the Basel convention which encourages parties to enter into bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements on Hazardous Waste to help achieve the objectives of the convention.
Nigeria is yet to ratify the treaty.
Mrs. Keita M’Bo, Minister of Environment of Mali and former president of the Bamako Convention Bureau
Host Minister and Ivoirian Minister for Public Health, Environment and Sustainable Development, Mme Anne Désirée Ouloto, speaking during a session at the COPIbrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director of UN EnvironmentA view of delegates at the COP
An ecologist, Mr Habib Omotosho, has urged the federal, state and local governments to incorporate climate change issues into their annual budgets to actualise plans to evolve low carbon society.
Environment Minister of State, Ibrahim Usman Jibril
Omotosho, who is the National Coordinator, Environmental Advancement Initiative, an NGO, gave the advice in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday, February 1, 2018.
He said that the government at all levels needed to prioritise investments in low-carbon energy projects, particularly in the areas of cooking modes, transportation modes and clean energy options.
“To this end, private sector investments should be encouraged for the production and distribution of clean cooking technologies, low carbon travel options, such as bicycles, hybrid cars, tricycles and other low carbon or non-carbon emitting energy options.
“Nigeria has a huge economic potential; a brilliant climate and environment future that cannot be left to be ravaged by the adverse effect of climate change,’’ he said.
Omotosho also urged the government and relevant stakeholders to implement structured policies and strategies aimed at achieving low carbon growth in the country.
He said that the government and people of Nigeria should promote the evolution of green, healthy and sustainable environment which supported food and livestock production as well as clean energy production.
An environmentalist, Mr Bassey Ating, has blamed prevalence of certain health challenges in the country on the poor disposal of human waste in some neighbourhoods.
Disposal of human waste into a water body
Ating, the Programme Coordinator, Wise Administration of Terrestrial Environment and Resources (WATER), made the declaration in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, February 1, 2018.
He urged Nigerians to desist from open defecation, saying that poor disposal of human waste was one of the major threats to human health.
He said that people were also exposed to health hazards when inhaling the odour emitting from decomposing substances in their surroundings.
“Poor disposal of human waste and other toxic materials such as lead acid, asbestos products and expired paints, among others, could be a threat to human health.
“If these substances are not disposed of properly, I mean when left in the open, close to populated areas or people’s homes, they can spread diseases easily,’’ he said.
The programme coordinator said that improper disposal of toxic products could also result in the release of dangerous materials into the environment.
Ating underscored the need to stamp out open defecation in the country, saying that exposure to human excreta was very hazardous, as bacteria, viruses and parasites were often found in human waste.
He said that when people or animals defecated in the open, flies and other pests fed on the faeces and transmitted germs to the people by perching on their food substances.
He also said that faeces left in the open could be washed by rainwater into wells, streams and other sources of water which people drank.
The environmentalist particularly bemoaned the dearth of toilets or latrines in some urban centres across the country.
He, however, said that tangible efforts should always be made to keep indoor and outdoor toilet facilities clean and free from germs to avoid the spread of diseases.
“The bottom-line is that bad waste management practices can result in land and air pollution.
“This can cause respiratory problems and other adverse health effects, as contaminants are absorbed from the lungs into other parts of the body,’’ he said.
Besides, Ating said that with the increase in population and the rising demand for food and other essentials, there had been a sharp rise in the amount of waste being generated daily by households.
“The waste is ultimately thrown into municipal waste collection centres, from where it is collected by the area waste managers to be deposited at waste landfills and dumpsites.
“If the waste management and disposal system of a neighbourhood is defective, it can cause serious problems in the health of the residents and their environment,’’ he said.
He, therefore, urged stakeholders in the environment and government at all levels to re-introduce monthly environmental sanitation exercise across the nation.
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) in collaboration with the UN Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF) is partnering with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to tackle malnutrition in Kaduna State.
Malam Lawal Haruna, the NOA Deputy Director in the state, who is UNICEF’s focal person in the agency, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Thursday, February 1, 2018.
Haruna said with the partnership, corps members serving in Kaduna State would be mobilised and trained to promote maternal, adolescent, infant and young child feeding to reduce maternal and child malnutrition.
He said the corps members would be trained on basic concept of nutrition and would be educated on the nutritional status of women and children across the communities where they would carry out their primary assignments.
Haruna said they would equally be trained as drama facilitators and would be supported to identify stakeholders and community volunteers they could work with in entrenching good nutritional habits in Kaduna communities.
According to him, the corps members will play a key role of identifying and mobilising community members, and community volunteers for the promotion of adequate maternal, adolescent, infant and young child feeding practice.
“They will also be expected to divide the community volunteers into drama groups, and train the volunteers on how to use drama to mobilise and improve community members’ knowledge on good nutrition,” he said.
Haruna said the activity would be carried out in 10 selected local government areas of the state namely – Jaba, Jema’a, Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Kachia, Igabi, Chikun, Kajuru and Makarfi and Lere.
The NOA boss said mobilising the corps members was crucial to winning the war against malnutrition in the state, stressing that the youths had always been the arrow head of progressive change in societies.
“This is because the youths are very energetic and form the engine room for any progressive movement as the most vibrant and active segment of the society and on whose shoulders lay the future of every society.
“We have already addressed about 1, 000 corps members currently in camp on the issue and they are enthusiastic to participate as facilitators in promoting good maternal adolescent, infant and young child feeding.
“We will be meeting them at zonal levels to give them drama orientation for effective community engagement through Theatre for Development (TFD) and other dialogue sessions,’’ Haruna said.
UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Kaduna Field Office, Chinwe Ezeife, said working with the corps members would help to curb the prevalence of malnutrition and reduce maternal and child deaths.
“Early initiation of breastfeeding in Kaduna State is 38.6 per cent, while practice of exclusive breastfeeding is as low as 6.2 per cent and a minimum dietary diversity of 44.5 per cent.
“These, among other factors were responsible for the high level of underweight children under the age of five, which stood at 34 per cent and stunted children at 37 per cent.
“If nothing is done, eight per cent of under-five children in the state are more likely to die of severe acute malnutrition before their fifth birthday,” she said.
Ezeife expressed optimism that much would be achieved with the corps members on board in promoting good nutritional habit as part of their national service in their various communities of primary assignment.
