Lassa Fever: Enforcing National Sanitation Day For Healthy Environment

The recent re-emergence of Lassa fever in the country has suddenly reawakened the consciousness of Nigerians to clean and healthy environment.

Relevant stakeholders have also taken steps to combat the menace. Last weekend, the National Inter-ministerial Committee on ‘Lassa fever’ organised a tripartite Environmental Sanitation Day, themed: “Clean Environment, Our Collective Responsibility for a Healthy Living”, in Kuje, FCT.

Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Mohammed, expressed federal government’s commitment to sustainable environmental sanitation practice in the nation.

She revealed that the National Environmental Sanitation Day (NESD) that was introduced by the Buhari Administration in 1984 would be resuscitated.

Mohammed said the idea of designated sanitation days at states, local governments as well as markets across the country has remained a legacy, while expressing her strong desire to consult with states, local governments and other relevant stakeholders to create a strong interface to bring back the National Environmental Sanitation Day with a view to giving Nigerians the desirable change in the environment sector.

She also said that existing sanitation programs at all levels will be strengthened and encouraged with every necessary incentives to complement the national program.

According to her, a comprehensive process of consultation, including discussions on the best practices to adopt to ensure the program is fully consolidated will be on the front burner at the National Council on Environment (NSE) due to hold in Lafia, Nasarawa state in the coming weeks.

The minister said, when fully resuscitated, a Peer Review Mechanism in the sector will be initiated, aimed at determining the cleanest states, cities, local governments and markets in the country, which will be rewarded with environmental related projects in their domain to be executed by the Federal Ministry of Environment.

She further stated that the re-emergence of Lassa fever and other environmentally related diseases in the country calls for greater attention and synergy by stakeholders of our environment as a strategy for combating the threats and protecting the lives of the people, adding that deaths arising from such epidemics are indeed avoidable and must be prevented at all cost.

Speaking on the theme of the occasion, the Minister said it was carefully thought out to highlight the fact that most of the common illnesses our people suffer from, such as Malaria, Cholera, Typhoid Fever, Scabies and Lassa fever occur as a result of poor environmental sanitation and hygienic practices.

She said the occasion presents a wake-up call and an opportunity for the people of Kuje, in the F.C.T and indeed the country to reflect on its general attitude to personal hygiene and healthy environment, adding that there is need to pay greater attention to proper solid waste management and the provision of public toilets.

While promising that she will make environmental sensitization across the country a daily affair, the Minister said she will do everything humanly possible to support the F.C.T and all the 36 states of the federation in the task of realising a clean and green Nigeria.

The occasion was attended by the Ministers of Environment, Health and FCT as well as the Minister of State for Environment.

Other dignitaries at the occasion include the Permanent Secretaries of Health, Environment and FCT as well as Chief Executives of Agencies under the three Ministries.

Also at the occasion were their Royal Highnesses, the Gomo of Kuje, and the Ona of Abaji among other.

It will recalled that the minister had earlier called on Nigerians to avail themselves of available Lassa fever prevention information, protect their foods from rats and avoid rat consumption even in communities that have no recorded cases of the disease, stressing that there is no environmental challenges in Nigeria that does not affect every part of the country.

She had also called for a return to regular environmental sanitation exercises and the sanitary inspectors.

However, the federal government has expressed embarrassment over the outbreak of the disease again, but has reassured Nigerians that the challenge would soon come to an end.