FG identifies poor sanitation as main cause of communicable diseases

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

Federal Government (FG) has identified poor sanitation as being responsible for a significant percentage of preventable communicable diseases particularly in developing countries including Nigeria.

FG further said a large number of children die every year due to sanitation and hygiene enabled diseases noting that more than 3.5 million children suffer from diarrheal diseases and this is not a small figure.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Yusuf who made this known in Abuja on Thursday at the commemoration of the National Environmental Sanitation Day (NESD) said children who are less than 5 years old, are more prone to such diseases.

The permanent secretary said this year’s theme “Promoting sustainable waste management for a healthy environment: stop open dumping” could not be more apt and timely considering the critical role sanitation and hygiene play in preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases such as Cholera, Typhoid fever, Lassa Fever, COVID-19 virus, Monkey pox virus etc.

Yusuf further said the advent of emerging and re-emerging diseases such as COVID-19, Lassa Fever, Monkey pox, Cholera etc. in Nigeria has further underscored the fact that access to sanitation and hygiene is not only a fundamental human right that safeguards public health and human dignity but also an essential need when it comes to disease prevention.

According to him ” this year’s National Environmental Sanitation Day, therefore calls for individuals, communities, governments at all levels, development partners etc. to be involved in the planning and implementation of sanitation and hygiene activity within their immediate environment, community and the nation at large.

“I wish to reiterate that environmental sanitation is imperative for socio- economic development. Its impact on all the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be overemphasised most especially SDG Goal 6-Improved Access to Clean Water and Sanitation.

“The proportion of people without sustainable access to basic sanitation in the recent analysis reveals that less than half of the Nigerian population has access to improved sanitation facilities. In addition, many of our city centres, communities and households still battle with the problems of waste management”.

The permanent secretary maintained that the NESD is more than just a day adding that sanitation and hygiene should become an integral part of our everyday life while urging government at all levels, media organizations and development Partners to join the Federal Ministry of Environment and other stakeholders in propagating Sanitation and hygiene practices to the general public.