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International Women’s Day: Stakeholders advocate for women, girls’ empowerment

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International Women’s Day: Stakeholders advocate for women, girls’ empowerment

In the light of the 2017 International Women’s Day, Executive Secretary, Youth Empowerment Foundation, Mrs Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, has said that women are overburdened in running the day-to-day affairs of their homes and urgent solution is required to turn things around.

Iwalola-Akin-Jimoh
Executive Secretary, Youth Empowerment Foundation, Mrs Iwalola Akin-Jimoh

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day campaign, “BeBoldForChange”, is a call to the masses and the women to help forge a better working world – a more gender inclusive world.

According to her, women are charged with heavy duties of caring for the husband, as well as attending to the daily demands of their homes, outside the fact that a 21st century woman seeks to get educated and desires to build her career.
She advocated for workplaces to provide mothers the opportunity to breastfeed their new‐born children.

“Sometimes, due to demanding careers, women are not able to spend time with their children. But some workplaces now offer mothers the opportunity to take care of their children while at work instead of relieving the mothers of their duties.”

She emphasised the importance of mothers’ breastfeeding their children, as this is the best source of immunity for the child.
On tackling gender-based violence, Iwalola asserted: “This requires a combination of efforts at community level, working with school systems and the media, encouraging victims to report and the prosecution of perpetrators, and also the need to address the issue of stigma. It is important to ensure GBV survivors, especially women and girls, have access to safe and secure wide range of health and social support services that can address their needs.”
Iwalola called on government at all levels to ensure the protection and empowerment of women.

“Women, especially the girl-child, must be given priority for their protection, promotion and empowerment. It is important to create safe spaces for girls to discuss important issues such as abuse, as this has brought to fore increased reporting of physical and sexual abuse of girls and women. Safe spaces need to be created in schools, communities and faith-based institutions to ensure that we address the safety needs of children and women,”

Also, Toyin Saraki, Founder/President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa, stressed: “An empowered woman is a productive woman, a health seeking woman, therefore a woman can be entrusted with the survival and wellbeing of herself and her family.

“In order to tackle the challenges of gender disparity, the Nigerian government should increase women’s presence at the labour market by enabling them have better access to employment both in the formal and informal sector, make girl-child education compulsory, encourage more women in leadership positions and take up political appointment.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8th every year. It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Nigeria is joining the rest of the world to commemorate the day as, according to the Development Communications (DevComs) Network, the health and wellbeing of a woman is vital to the wellbeing of a nation.

For instance, the Embassy of France in Nigeria will hold two separate events in Lagos on Friday, March 10 and Saturday, march 11.

According to Aurélien Sennacherib, Attaché for cooperation and cultural affairs, a film screening of “Aya de Youpougon” with e-presence of Marguerite Abouet at Bogobiri holds at 6pm on Friday.

The following day entails a panel-discussion and closing cocktail at Terra Kulture with the theme: “Women in the move, in Nigeria and beyond: feminism or feminisms?” Moderated by Dr. Sara Panata, it will feature Molara wood (writer), Ngozi Iwere (activist), and Georgina Duke (editor).

Our ordeal in public hospitals, by pregnant physically-challenged women

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Our ordeal in public hospitals, by pregnant physically-challenged women

The stress of carrying pregnancy, ranging from the weight of the foetus to vomiting, regular passing of urine and sometimes bleeding, tend to overwhelm even able-bodied women, how much more the physically-challenged who may be blind, lame or deaf and dumb, yet heavy with pregnancy.

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For the physically-pregnant challenged women, one of their greatest problems is difficulty in accessing anti-natal care at hospitals

For these pregnant physically-challenged  women, one of their greatest problems is difficulty in accessing anti-natal care at hospitals, which is a key requirement in having healthy pregnancy.

The hostile nature of health workers at public hospitals and the physical or spatial design of most hospitals, some of which were not originally meant to accommodate the physically-challenged, all collude to act as stumbling block to the would-be mother.

For instance, a partially deaf and dumb woman was recently at a government hospital in Surulere area of Lagos where, for over five hours, she was completely ignored and help did not come to her.

In tears, she recounts her ordeal. “I became deaf accidentally. I was not born deaf. When I have health challenges, I go to the hospital, mostly the general hospital. When I get there, I would greet them (health workers) and they will just say, ‘Go and sit down’. I will stay there for long and no help will come. I can’t hear my name when they call. There’s nobody to help me. Even if I say that I am deaf, it does not make any dense. So, in the hospital, we don’t enjoy the experience.”

Her experience is widely shared by most physically-challenged people.

It could be worse in more severe cases where the patients are completely deaf, totally blind or confined to the wheelchair.

Many of these physically-challenged pregnant women are reportedly forced to cope with inadequate health services since they cannot stand before scanners or climb into high tables, as often required by doctors during anti-natal checks.

According to another physically-challenged mother, the high rate of impatience which health workers, especially those in public facilities, show to patients tend to be more pronounced when the patient has physical limitation.

“We see hell at hospitals. One day, after a long wait without any attention, I walked up to one of the workers to explain my plight. You needed to see how she shouted at me. In high tone, she ordered me to go and sit down. I said, ‘Go and sit down?’ She shouted again. I was shocked. They should assist us because we are also human beings with aspirations to have our our children.”

Some concerned Nigerians said that if Nigeria must reduce its high rate of child and maternal mortality beyond equiping hospitals, the unsavoury attitude of health workers must be checked.

“The bureaucratic nature of our health facilities is just too much, for a simple decision can be made quite complex. They said the matron has not come, the doctor has not come.The doctor has to sign as the case may be. So, at the end of the day, the case gets more complicated and time is going. The fact remains that women are dying,” says a concerned party who prefers to remain anonymous.

A human rights activist who is passionate about issues that concerns the physically-challenged in the country, Mrs. Emmanuela Akiola, wants the comtempt which some medical personnel show to patients to be addressed by groups which regulate the operations of health workers.
“The duties of health workers should be to save lives. When you scare the patients away by your bad attitude, where do you want them to run to? Go back to the house and die there? No, it’s not healthy. They should find lasting solution to this problem and they must do it fast.”

A representative of the association of deaf and dumb women in Lagos, Mrs. Adedoyin Akse, popularly called “Mama Deaf”, suggested steps that government could take to make healthcare easier for members of her group, to including employment of sign language interpreters and proper demarcation of roads and walkways in hospitals to make movement convenient for disabled people.

“We need interpreters. We want government to do that for us,” she said.

Meanwhile, Chairman Lagos State Branch of Nigeria Private Doctors Association, Dr. Adeyeye Arigbabuowo, advised disabled people who fall victim of maltreatment at hospitals to report such to the appropriate professional bodies.

“In order to make sure customers and end users are happy, that is why the Service Chatter was created. Go there and report. That is inhuman. Even to humanity it is unfair, he says.

Addressing high rate of child and maternal mortality was one of the critical elements for achieving goal Number 5 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which is no longer operational.

Social analysts believe the aim of the National Health Act, which is to provide adequate healthcare delivery for all citizens and which is in line with the government’s “Change” mantra would remain a mirage as long as those who are living with disabilities, especially the pregnant ones are continuously shunned by personnel in public health facilities across the country.

From Innocent Onoh

Compendium on GHG baselines, monitoring unveiled

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Compendium on GHG baselines, monitoring unveiled

Adopted at COP21 in Paris, the Paris Agreement sent a clear signal from the international community to strengthen the global response to climate change. The agreement set forward the ambitious pathway of limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2°C.

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Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A number of Parties to the UNFCCC contributed to the Compendium on Greenhouse Gas Baselines and Monitoring

In order to achieve this, global actions need to be transformational, and enable appropriate flow of financial, technological and capacity-building support. Effective and robust implementation of the Paris Agreement will require strong leadership and contribution from all Parties, as well as non-State actors.

To provide Parties with support in their assessment of emission reduction from mitigation actions, a number of international organisations have contributed to the creation of the “Compendium on Greenhouse Gas Baselines and Monitoring.” The “Compendium” seeks to assist in generation of meaningful and measurable impact, as well as in the establishment of strategic vision.

The first volume of the “Compendium” is focused on national level mitigation actions. By providing an overview of tools available for setting national emission reduction targets and goals, Parties will be able to estimate the mitigation impact of actions taken to reach these goals and measure progress towards achieving them. The document also provides guidance on necessary steps and key considerations needed to select an appropriate approach for each Parties’ national circumstances.

The comprehensive guidance contained in this volume can help countries assess national emissions trajectories and make informed choices when setting national emission reduction targets and goals. By preparing informed and ambitious national mitigation actions, every country can make a sound contribution to the global effort to combat climate change and build a sustainable future.

Contributors to the “Compendium” include: World Bank, World Resource Institute, Food and Agriculture Organisation, United Nations Development Programme, International Renewable Energy Agency, GIZ, Fundación Torcuato Di Tella, and Swedish Energy Agency, with overall coordination by the UNFCCC secretariat.

The “Compendium on Greenhouse Gas Baselines and Monitoring: National-Level Mitigation Actions can be downloaded here.

GMOs: Biosafety agency moves to strengthen ties with Customs

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GMOs: Biosafety agency moves to strengthen ties with Customs

GMOs: Biosafety agency The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have met in Abuja, the federal capital city, to strengthen the working relationship between the two agencies in the bid to effectively regulate the importation of genetically-modified (GM) foods to ensure that only safe GM foods are allowed in the country.

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Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director-General and CEO of the the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). Photo credit: climatereporters.com

Rufus Ebegba, DG/CEO of NBMA, said at the meeting, which held recently, that due to the sensitivity of GM organisms, it was imperative for both organs of government to work closely.

He underlined the need for synergy between NBMA and Customs to ensure that all import approvals granted by the NBMA serve as part of the documentations that the NCS will require at entry points.

“There is a need for us to develop a central working system, where all Permits granted by NBMA can be accessed by the Customs Service,” said Dr. Ebegba.

He listed some of the products that Customs should be particular about at the entry points to include: soya, maize and cotton.

The DG hinted that NBMA would carry out an intensive enlightenment programme for the NCS so as to equip officers on the knowledge of the mandate of the NBMA.

Responding, the leader of the NCS delegation assured the NBMA management of the preparedness of the Nigeria Customs to collaborate and ensure that unapproved GMOs are not allowed into the country.

It will be recalled that the NBMA and the NCS, in 2016, worked out a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that itemised the duties and responsibilities of each agency in respect to effective regulation of GMOs and their products.

Optimism as Clean-up Nigeria scrubs Isolo

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Optimism as Clean-up Nigeria scrubs Isolo

It was indeed a green party of sorts in Isolo on the Saturday, February 25 2017 as youths, passionate for a cleaner Lagos, came out en-mass under the African Clean-up Initiative platform for “Clean-up Isolo” in an event tagged, “Green Valentine Clean-Up Special”.

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L-R: A volunteer, Lolo 1 of Wazobia FM (Adaku of Jenifa’s Diary), Ugochi Oluigbo (TVC Green Angle presenter), Chioma Ukonu of RecyclePoints and Alex Akhigbe, Convener of Clean-up Nigeria Project

The event, which marked the 13th clean-up exercise of the Clean-up Nigeria project, an African Clean-up initiative, was organised in partnership with Greenhill Recycling to show love to the people of Isolo as well as raise environmental conscious citizens while sensitising them on the need for a clean environment.

A thrilled Alex Akhigbe, convener of the clean-up exercise, noted: “Out of the 12 successful projects that have been carried out by Clean-up Nigeria, this particular one seems to amaze me because, aside the support of volunteers from different part of Lagos and outside the state joining in the clean-up exercise, the people in the community also joined and we were able to clean all the gutters, blocked drainage and also swept the streets.”

Like previous cleaning exercise of the body, the Isolo Clean-up was graced by officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Isolo Local Development Area, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) as well as Lolo 1 of Wazobia FM (Adaku of Jenifa’s Diary), Omotunde Adebowale David, TVC News Anchor/Eco Journalist, Ugochi Oluigbo and Miss Environment International, Queen Abidemi Akinrinmade.

The event enjoyed the support of srganisations like Recycle Points, Enpact Health, FABE, Eco Nigeria, Susty vibes, Ecoprune, Shobbu, Climate Wednesday, Safety and Environment Company, Retink Media, Harvest Recycling and Passion House. And some young aspiring environmentalists under the platform of Eco Kids, WeSeperateWaste also were on ground for the clean-up.

Mr. Akhigbe appears excited to have achieved the objective behind the Clean-up Nigeria Project at the Isolo Clean-up which, according to him, is to engage communities with clean-up advocacy activities as well as to inspire and raise environment-friendly and responsible citizens in the country.

Hayatou regrets not winning W/Cup for Africa

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Hayatou regrets not winning W/Cup for Africa

Embattled Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) President, Issa Hayatou, has revealed that he regrets Africa did not win the World Cup during his 29-year reign.

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CAF President, Issa Hayatou

He made the revelation during an exclusive interview with Kwesesports, as he prepares for yet another election as CAF President fixed for March 16, in Ethiopia.

“My biggest failure is that I never won the World Cup. That Africa, during my reign, never won the World Cup is my failure,” he was quoted as saying.

The Cameroonian said that, if voted into office once more, he would make up for his personal failure of his nearly three decades at the helm of CAF.

In an answer to a question on the possibility of Africa getting more slots in the proposed expanded FIFA World Cup when it starts in 2026, Hayatou said CAF has asked for nine-and-a-half places, at the middle of last month at a meeting in Dubai, but that at the moment “we have nine of the 48 places among the teams in the World Cup.”

“That half place means a CAF team would have to play off against a side from another, as yet undecided Confederation.

“This will come as good news to many on the continent who have demanded that Africa be given a full 10 places at the tournament. But, with nine certain places, and the potential for a 10th from a play-off, this should calm ruffled feathers,” he concluded.

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has also revealed that Africa would get additional seven places in the expanded World Cup of 48 teams from 32.

By Felix Simire

Degradation of Nigeria’s National Parks: A monumental disaster

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Degradation of Nigeria’s National Parks: A monumental disaster

The Nigeria National Park Service has failed woefully as the custodian of our national heritage located in the seven National Parks in the country. Even the managers of this failed institution must agree that they have betrayed the trust and confidence reposed in them by the various governments and people of Nigeria. It was in view of this that a national daily recently dedicated a two-part editorial to this moribund institution. Something has to be done.

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The Gashaka Gumti National Park

Many people reading this piece would be wondering which National Parks are being referred to. And there lies the problem. How could a Federal Government agency have existed as a legal entity with statutory functions for almost twenty-six years and yet not up to five percent of Nigerians know anything about them? Even the National Park Service Headquarters in Abuja is hideous. This is an institution that is a product of the wave of environmentalism that swept across the country in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Nigerians had been jolted from environmental improvidence in 1988 with the discovery of tons of well-packed toxic waste in the port town of Koko in the present Delta State. The real and imagined consequences were not such that could have been overlooked. While non-governmental organisations began to add their voices to the need for a deepened environmental consciousness, communities in the Niger Delta became incrementally aware of the depth of environmental degradation occasioned by oil exploration and exploitation.

The then Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) responded with a series of environmental legislations including the Federal Environmental Protection Decree (now Act) No. 58 of 1988 setting up the then Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), The National Parks Decree (Act) No. 36 of 1991 setting up the National Park Service and six National Parks in the country, namely; Chad Basin National Park, Kainji Lake National Park, Gashaka Gumti National Park, Old Oyo National Park, Cross River National Park and  Yankari National Park which was actually a later addition. There was also the Environmental Impact Assessment Decree (Act) No. 86 of 1992. All these legal instruments have undergone a series of reviews in the recent past including the one that led to the addition of two more National Parks, namely; Okomu National Park in Edo State and the Kamuku National Park in Kaduna State and converted the National Park Service into a paramilitary organisation.

The point being made here is that National Parks in Nigeria were set up as a response to the rising need to shield from destruction considerable portions of our floral and faunal resources including biophysical structures and all that should be considered as national heritage. The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST) are among the NGOs that worked towards the establishment of the National Parks. Also, many individuals, namely; Chief S.L. Edu, Chief Philip Asiodu, Brigadier-General Abba Kyari (rtd), Mr Pius Anadu, Mr. A.P. Leventis, Chief I.I. Murphy, Professor David Okali, Mrs Adetoun Fagbayi-Mohammed and many others contributed in no small measure, directly or indirectly to the realisation of the dream.

It is important to shed more light on the background and the raison d’etre of National Parks in Nigeria. Between 1981 and the year 2000 Nigeria lost 3.7 hectares of forests and only 4% of the country’s untouched forest cover was left. More frightening was the fact that the loss continued at the rate of 3.5% annually. This implies colossal loss of biodiversity. As at that time 484 plant species were threatened with extinction in Nigeria. Nevertheless, Nigeria’s remaining forests habour about 4000 different species of plants including those that have been found to be effective in the development of alternative medicine. There are also animals, including birds that can only be found in Nigeria and nowhere else. These include the Ibadan Malimbe, the Anambra Waxbill, the Jos Indigo Bird and the white-throated Monkey (Cercopithecus erythrogaster pococki), the Niger Delta Pigmy Hippo and the Niger Delta Red Colobus Monkey.

Forests are home to wildlife and perform a broad range of critical environmental and climatic functions including the maintenance of constant supply of water. Forests habour species and at the same time have very deep economic, aesthetic, industrial and religious significance for humans. But the greatest threats to forests have been bush burning and illegal logging; a situation made hopeless by absence of measures aimed at regeneration and a valuation system. The need for an environmentally and socially equitable approach to forest management becomes imperative.

It is from this backdrop, therefore, that informed the need to set aside swathes of areas of scientific, historical and ecological significance for protection. However, the story of National Parks in Nigeria has been pathetic. The management of National Parks in Nigeria has been a self-evident demonstration of crass incompetence and lack of vision and proper understanding of its institutional mandate.  With regard to protection, no National Park is in any sphere better than it was at inception 26 years ago. They are characterised by degradation of infrastructure, loss of biodiversity, shrinking land mass and demoralisation of staff. As it stands, Nigerian National Parks will contribute to tourism development in Nigeria only when degradation itself becomes a tourist attraction.

While National Parks in most African countries contribute to economic development, ours have consistently become drainpipes that wallow in obscurity and deception. What can be more deceptive than using footages of chimpanzees and drill monkeys from the Drill Ranch (Pandrillus), a private rehabilitation centre in Afi Mountain in Cross River State, to produce documentaries of Nigerian National Parks? The management of the National Park Service has been capitalising on the shallow environmental consciousness of Nigerians for selfish ends.

The national security implication of the mismanagement of our National Parks is quite grave. Four of Nigeria’s National Parks, namely; Chad Basin National Park, Gashaka Gumpti National Park, Kainji Lake National Park and Cross River National Park sit on international boundaries. Some are even contiguous with National Parks and Forest Reserves of other countries. In other words, National Parks constitute a serious threat to national security. Bandits and insurgents hide in National Parks as a result of porous security apparatus while the insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country has provided a strong excuse to mask or explain away sheer incompetence. A serious appreciation of the importance and enormity of the task of park protection over the years should have given rise to linkages and collaboration with other security agencies in the country.

The thing about National Parks and what they protect is that these are things that cannot be replaced once they are gone.  Economies can rise and fall, employment rates rise and fall, human conflicts come and go.  But if we destroy the last examples of the natural world that once was Nigeria it can never be replaced.

How do we make Nigerians proud of their natural heritage?  How do we link it to their personal and collective visions of God and spirituality?  Sometimes I say to people, “you all claim to believe in God.  God put these things here, and he put them here and made this place before he put you here.  Who are you to destroy God’s creation?” and also to remind them that these natural treasures were handed down to them by their ancestors, and it is their responsibility to hand them down as they received them. We cannot achieve this by letting Chad Basin National Park cry out for redefinition. Is it still a National Park? Do we stand aloof and watch Kamuku National Park turn into grazing reserve and a highly ostentatious ‘superhighway’ tear the fringes of the Cross River National Park?

A comprehensive and urgent probe of National Park Service and a scientific census or audit of the natural resources within the confines of our National Parks has become imperative.

By Paddy Ezeala (Communication and development specialist; paddyezeala@yahoo.co.uk)

Three Nigerians among African Academy of Sciences’ Cohort 2 affiliates

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Three Nigerians among African Academy of Sciences’ Cohort 2 affiliates

Three Nigerians are listed among the 22 early career scientists selected by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) for the second cohort of the AAS Affiliates Programme that recognises exceptional young scholars. The AAS announced on Monday, March 6 2017 that the affiliates were selected through a merit-based review process.

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Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences, Prof Berhanu Abegaz

The 22, who are PhD holders and below the age 40, were selected from Benin (two affiliates), Cameroon (two), Egypt (two), Ghana  (one), Kenya (three), Morocco (one), Nigeria (three), South Africa (two), Tanzania (two), Tunisia (two), Uganda (one) and Zambia (one), after what the AAS describes as a rigorous review process by eminent senior scientists who are AAS Fellows in the respective Academy’s regional offices. The Affiliates, adds the AAS, work in fields that include engineering, biosciences and heath research.

The Nigerians are: Olayinka Ayotunde Oridupa of the University of Ibadan (Medical and Health Sciences), Cyril Ehi-Eromosele of the Covenant University (Chemical Sciences) and Andrew C. Eloka-Eboka of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Engineering Technology and Applied Sciences).

The 22 were selected from the five regions of Africa to be AAS Affiliates from 2017 to 2021.
“These young scholars have shown promise in their fields and are deserving of the recognition,” said AAS Executive Director, Prof Berhanu Abegaz. “We will work with their institutions to provide them with opportunities to develop their careers and to leverage their skills and passion to contribute to Africa’s development.”

The AAS set up the Affiliates programme in 2015 to recognise, mentor and help early career professionals develop into world class research leaders. Through a donation from AAS Fellow and Senior Advisor Kevin Marsh, the Academy has set up a fund to promote the professional development of Affiliates and other early career scientists to help attract and retain them on the continent.

According to the AAS, Africa loses an average of about 20,000 professionals a year to countries outside the continent most of who are young people who leave because of lack of infrastructure and opportunities to grow their scientific careers.

The Affiliates will be supported to attend conferences, symposia and workshops and other activities that will improve their skills in proposal development, grant writing and pitching innovations to help them win more grants, improve their publication records and ensure that their research impacts their communities. AAS Affiliates will also be mentored by senior scientists, some of whom will be drawn from AAS Fellows.

“It’s encouraging to see organisations such as the AAS recognising the work that we do as young scientists and committing to our development by providing mentorship opportunities and tools which we can use for our careers to thrive and for us to contribute to the continued growth of our continent,” said Dr Melissa Kapulu, a Zambia-born postdoctoral fellow at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Programme. KEMRI is the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Images: UN Security Council in Nigeria

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Images: UN Security Council in Nigeria

Photo News Archives For the first time in the history of the country, the United Nations Security Council visited Nigeria, albeit from Sunday, March 5 to Monday, March 6 2017.

The UN delegation visited the cities of Maiduguri in Borno State and Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

On arriving Maiduguri on Sunday, the Security Council Visiting Mission to the Lake Chad Basin Region met local officials and civil society organisations before visiting an IDP camp. Later in the evening, the Council transferred to Abuja.

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Members of the UN Security Council arrive Maiduguri in Borno State as part of Lake Chad region visit observing needs and scaled-up response
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Welcome to Nigeria…
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UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, chairs UNCT meeting with UN Security Council delegation
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Meeting with UN Security Council in Abuja, Edward Kallon said urgent international support to Nigeria needed as scope of crisis is immense
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UN Security Council delegation meets with Acting President, Yomi Osinbajo, and Commissioners of ECOWAS in Nigeria
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“We stand with #Nigeria in responding to the crisis,” says Matthew Rycroft, President of UN Security Council, during a media briefing
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UN Security Council members in a meeting with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri, in a bid to getting first hand info on their challenges
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UN Security Council members meet Governo Kashim Shettima of Borno State, who affirms commitment to support crisis response efforts

 

 

Pollution kills 1.7m children yearly, says WHO

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Pollution kills 1.7m children yearly, says WHO

More than one in four deaths of children under five years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million children under-five years, say two new World Health Organisation (WHO) reports.

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Children exposed to air pollution. The WHO says that more than one in four deaths of children under five years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments

The first report, “Inheriting a Sustainable World: Atlas on Children’s Health and the Environment”, reveals that a large portion of the most common causes of death among children aged one month to five years – diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia – are preventable by interventions known to reduce environmental risks, such as access to safe water and clean cooking fuels.

“A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “Their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water.”

Harmful exposures can start in the mother’s womb and increase the risk of premature birth. Additionally, when infants and pre-schoolers are exposed to indoor and outdoor air pollution and second-hand smoke they have an increased risk of pneumonia in childhood, and a lifelong increased risk of chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma. Exposure to air pollution may also increase their lifelong risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer.

 

Top 5 causes of death in children under-five years linked to the environment

A companion report, “Don’t pollute my future! The impact of the environment on children’s health”, provides a comprehensive overview of the environment’s impact on children’s health, illustrating the scale of the challenge. Every year:

  • 570,000 children under-five years die from respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution, and second-hand smoke.
  • 361,000 children under-five years die due to diarrhoea, as a result of poor access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.
  • 270,000 children die during their first month of life from conditions, including prematurity, which could be prevented through access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in health facilities as well as reducing air pollution.
  • 200,000 deaths of children under-five years from malaria could be prevented through environmental actions, such as reducing breeding sites of mosquitoes or covering drinking-water storage.
  • 200,000 children under 5 years die from unintentional injuries attributable to the environment, such as poisoning, falls, and drowning.

 

Ongoing and emerging environmental threats to children’s health

“A polluted environment results in a heavy toll on the health of our children,” says Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. She adds: “Investing in the removal of environmental risks to health, such as improving water quality or using cleaner fuels, will result in massive health benefits.”

For example, emerging environmental hazards, such as electronic and electrical waste (such as old mobile phones) that is improperly recycled, expose children to toxins which can lead to reduced intelligence, attention deficits, lung damage, and cancer. The generation of electronic and electrical waste is forecasted to increase by 19% between 2014 and 2018, to 50 million metric tonnes by 2018.

With climate change, temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide are rising, favouring pollen growth which is associated with increased rates of asthma in children. Worldwide, 11–14% of children aged five years and older currently report asthma symptoms and an estimated 44% of these are related to environmental exposures. Air pollution, second-hand tobacco smoke, and indoor mould and dampness make asthma more severe in children.

In households without access to basic services, such as safe water and sanitation, or that are smoky due to the use of unclean fuels, such as coal or dung for cooking and heating, children are at an increased risk of diarrhoea and pneumonia.

Children are also exposed to harmful chemicals through food, water, air and products around them. Chemicals, such as fluoride, lead and mercury pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and others in manufactured goods, eventually find their way into the food chain. And, while leaded petrol has been phased out almost entirely in all countries, lead is still widespread in paints, affecting brain development.

 

Making all places safe for children

Reducing air pollution inside and outside households, improving safe water and sanitation and improving hygiene (including in health facilities where women give birth), protecting pregnant women from second-hand tobacco smoke, and building safer environments, can prevent children’s deaths and diseases.

For example, multiple government sectors can work together to improve the following:

  • Housing: Ensure clean fuel for heating and cooking, no mould or pests, and remove unsafe building materials and lead paint.
  • Schools: Provide safe sanitation and hygiene, free of noise, pollution, and promote good nutrition.
  • Health facilities: Ensure safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and reliable electricity.
  • Urban planning: Create more green spaces, safe walking and cycling paths.
  • Transport: Reduce emissions and increase public transport.
  • Agriculture: Reduce the use of hazardous pesticides and no child labour.
  • Industry: Manage hazardous waste and reduce the use of harmful chemicals.
  • Health sector: Monitor health outcomes and educate about environmental health effects and prevention.

Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) countries are working on a set of targets to guide interventions for children’s environmental health, as well as to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five by 2030. In addition to SDG 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, other SDGs work to improve water, sanitation and hygiene, transition to clean energy to reduce air pollution, and reverse climate change – all of which will have an impact on children’s health.

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