By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Environmental and Public Health Practitioners Association of Nigeria (EPHPAN), Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) has partnered to coordinate and promote best practices to enhance sustainable environmental and public health services.
The two organisations said the collaboration will bring in practitioners across all cadres together for effective service delivery.
Speaking at the weekend during EPHAN’s first Critical Stakeholders’ Meeting in Abuja, tagged; “Strengthening Collaboration for Environmental and Public Health in Nigeria”, the
President of EPHAN, Dr Samuel, said, “we are bringing practitioners at various levels together under one umbrella for robust interaction and professional service delivery.”
He noted that his administration will create a unified platform for all constituent groups, including environmental health practitioners, epidemiologists, and water, sanitation, and hygiene specialists.
“Where there is interaction, there is cohesion and robust synergy. That is the wisdom behind the Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Association of Nigeria,” he noted.
He emphasised that by working together – public servants, academics, students, and artisans – significant progress could be achieved.
He also pledged the association’s full support for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the public health sector, and announced the launch of the association’s official website: www.ephan.org.
“We urged our members to go to the website and register for the next two weeks free”.
The Registrar of EHCON, Yakubu Baba,called the engagement ‘a landmark moment’, noting that it aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Sustainable Development goals six, seven and nine, within the “One Health” framework.
“What we are witnessing today is a strong collaboration that will strengthen the practice of environmental and public health to better serve the people.
“This is also in line with the amended Act 11 of 2002, which mandates the council to regulate the practice of environmental health in all ramifications,”
He explained that the engagement represents a tripartite arrangement involving researchers, academics responsible for capacity building, and the professional association.
Registrar of the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), Dr Yakubu Baba, said the meeting was a strategic session aimed at improving coordination, promoting best practices, and advancing sustainable solutions in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda is centred on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and you cannot achieve SDGs 3, 6, and 9 without embracing the One Health concept,” he said.
Dr Baba stressed that the collaboration would strengthen both practice and service delivery in environmental and public health.
He added that the initiative aligns with the Council’s mandate to regulate environmental health practices, as provided by the amended Act 11 of 2002.
He also said that EHCON is working with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to develop specialised training programmes for environmental health practitioners.
“The goal is to move away from the traditional ‘jack-of-all-trades’ model and produce graduates with specific, marketable skills. This is aimed at reducing reliance on government jobs and encouraging private sector employment,” he explained.
He also pledged the association’s full support for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the public health sector, and announced the launch of the association’s official website: www.ephan.org, while urging members to register free from now to two weeks.
Earlier, Registrar of EHCON, Dr. Yakubu Baba, said the meeting is very strategic and aimed at improving coordination, promoting best practices, and advancing sustainable solutions in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the Renewed Hope Agenda is centred on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and you cannot achieve SDGs three, six, and nine without embracing the One Health concept”.
He noted that the partnership would strengthen both practice and service delivery in environmental and public health.
He added that the initiative aligns with the Council’s mandate to regulate environmental health practices, as provided by the amended Act 11 of 2002.
