ROLE
OF THE COMMUNITY AND CHALLENGE OF PERSONNEL
The environmental sanitation and
personal hygiene practices (using Ebonyi State as a case study) as the measure
for the control of diseases.
INTRODUCTION
To understand
the above subject matter logically we shall commence the discussion with the
definition of environment-types, scope and composition and why it must be
protected particularly using the sanitation approach. We shall further look at
the roles of the community in this programme and the constraints and limitation
facing Environmental Protection and sanitation in Ebonyi State. Finally
possible recommendation will be proffered in other to improve environmental
sanitation and personal hygiene in the state.
OVERVIEW
OF ENVIRONMENT
On
creation man was divinely charged to inhabit the earth and domesticate it, thus
the earth became man’s environment. This environment which is life sustaining
is made up of two vital components namely BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC. The biotic is
made up living organisms like animals, fungi, microorganisms and plants. The
Abiotic is made of non-living things like chemicals and other physical
factors-(Weather: temperature, humidity, rains, snows, soil, water and
sunlight.
The biosphere does not exist
“sui-generis” but is interdependent and interrelated with three abiotic
domains-Atmosphere (Air, weather, Rain,
snow), LITHOSPHERE (soil, earth crust) and Hydrosphere (water) in providing
mankind with the basic necessities of life-food, clothing, shelter and other
things that make life meaningful. The sum total of these interacting domains
and processes is conceptualized in this discuss as mans total environment the
Biosphere or Ecosphere which we shall jealously continue to protect at all possible
cost.
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
Having
noted the importance of the environment in ensuring the continuous sustenance
of life it becomes imperative that we must protect it. The need to protect this
environment becomes more imperative when we consider the ever increasing
resource-acquisition methods due to technological advances being employed in
the mining, fishing, farming, logging, agriculture, factories and industries.
This threat is further compounded by the rising standards of living, population
growth etc.
These
activities of man have created numerous environmental problems many of which
have already reached global proportion. Most of these activities create very
deleterious impact on the environment (eg Ozone depletion) that threatens mans
survival on the planet. Other impacts include:
- soil
erosion and topsoil loss
- Desertification
- Deforestation
- Acid
rains
- Global
warning
- Pollution
of several types-air, food, water soil etc.
One
can infere that the quality of man’s environmental is fast depreciating by
every passing day and will get worst if nothing is done practically both at the
local and global levels. Environmental protection is increasingly becoming
global issue considering – ozone depletion, green house effects, global climatic
changes and warming etc. Most of these issues have brought together several
world leaders from the developed and developing countries to discuss measures,
formulate policies that will reduce pollution globally for the interest of
humanity and future generation.
Wikipedia
defined environmental protection as “a practice of protecting the natural
environment from all forms of abuses by individuals, communities,
organizations industries and governments”. The issue of environmental
protection from abuses particularly that of pollution and its concomitant
consequences on the good health of man and other living organisms has been
brought into the front burner for global discussion and possible solutions.
Against
this backdrop several strategies or approaches are being employed for this
purpose locally and globally using legislations, enactment of environmental
protection laws, Establishment of environmental protection agencies etc. others
include the adoption of Environmental sanitation strategy and the personal
hygiene practices in order to avert drastically environmental pollution of our
Air, water, soil and food contamination and to reduce the possible contact
between man and the hazards of wastes. All the above measures are aimed at
reducing mortality and morbidity rates and other deleterious impacts on our
environment. We shall examine critically the environmental sanitation and
personal hygiene practices in ebonyi state as the measure for the control of
diseases.
For
a holistic understanding of these measurers let us recall that man’s sustaining environment the BIOSPHERE consists
of an inter-play between the Earth planet and the atmosphere, the lithosphere
and hydrosphere to ensure the total survival of man. It is a sociological
truism that the pollution of any of these domains by man’s activities
invariably will affect all other domains and their inhabitants and properties.
On the contrary the “safety” of any of the domains translates to the safety of
others. So in environmental protection and sanitation we must bear in mind
these domains and their interplay.
These
domains like we had earlier noted face several deleterious impacts due to mans
activities in the quest for providing her needs of life and comfort. In that
process several thousands of tons of wastes are generated, some of the wastes
are in solid, liquid and gaseous forms including other hazardous wastes. The
greatest culprits in this pollution exercise is the SOLID and the HAZARDROUS
WASTES. These wastes greatly predisposes man to various health hazards
including aiding in the transmission of diseases through pollution of the
environment-air, water, soil and the contamination of food.
It’s
these harmful impacts that the application of effective environmental
Sanitation and personal hygiene practices wants to address. According to
Wikipedia environmental Sanitation refers to “the hygienic control of
environmental factors that form links in disease transmission-i.e solid waste
management, water and wastewater treatment, industrial waste treatment,
noise and pollution control”. These hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes can
be by adopting sophisticated engineering solutions like sewerage and wastewater
treatment plants or through simple technologies like use of latrines, septic
tanks and even by personal hygiene practices like simple hand washing
with soap.
The
application of these two strategies will drastically reduce all forms of
pollutions and discourage the growth and transmission of pathogenic organisms
while the religious application of personal hygiene practices will reduce human
contact with hazardous wastes thereby reducing mortality and morbidity rates in
the community. WHO agrees that “inadequate (Poor) Sanitation in our urban towns
and rural areas is the major cause of diseases and deaths world-wide and
improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health
both in the households and across communities.
In
all human societies it is a fact of truth that for any meaningful
socio-economic and political development to take place there is a very strong
need to ensure the safety and good health of the citizens and this can be
achieved through improved environmental sanitation and robust personal hygiene
practices by the citizens. This leads us to the million dollar question of the
state of these variables in our Ebonyi State today. Do we have enough sanitary
facilities and services for environmental Sanitation? And what is the state of
personal hygiene practices in Ebonyi State? The answers are obvious because we
do not have such facilities and services and where they exist they are grossly
inadequate with poor services. Also the level of personal hygiene practices in
the state is abysmally low. Why is the situation like this in Ebonyi State.
CHALLENGES/LIMITATIONS
Governments – (local and state) face
several challenges in implementing environmental protection and sanitation
mechanisms. These include lack of financial resources, low level of political will
on environmental matters. These have serious consequences on the Public Health
Services particularly in environmental sanitation as typified by the following;
- Lack of sanitary equipments for the
management of solid, liquid, gaseous and other hazardous wastes.
- Absence or lack of standard/sanitary
refuse collection dumps and the final disposal sites.
- Primitive acquisition of refuse dumps
by the elite.
- Lack of modern technology for
improved sanitation and Environment protection (sewerage and wastewater treatment
plants for recycling) in our urban towns.
- Lack of fund to meet the ever
increasing demand from the dynamics of public health programmes.
- Lack of adequate skilled staff (e.g
the Environmental health officers) in all public health enforcement agencies –
ministry of Environment, EBSEPA, Local Government Area Health Departments.
- Impacts of population growth in the
urban towns due to-rural-urban migration.
- Legislation (out dated Public Health
law of 1963 as applicable in Ebonyi State.
- Unwholesome attitude of some health
workers – state, LGA, EBSEPA.
- Low level of literacy in the
population.
- Low level of social awareness on the
importance of environmental protection, sanitation and personal Hygiene.
- Poverty
- Inadequate supply (or lack) of
portable drinking water.
- Politicization of Environmental
sanitation and several public health programmes.
ROLE OF COMMUNITY IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,
SANITATION AND DISEASE CONTROL
In
this context community can be defined as a group of people who live in a
particular area that share similar norms and values (eg Afikpo, Izzi,
Ezza Communities (etc) or could be seen from Local Government Area (LGA)
perspectives. Each of these communities consists of executive chairman and
council members, Development centre coordinators and management team. There are
also heads of Departments, political ward councilors and traditional rulers and
cabinet. There are heads of industries (where applicable), heads of educational
institutions (Primary, Secondary, tertiary), heads of health facilities
(public, private). There are also heads of churches, opinion leaders/moulders
and other Kins men and women including the youths.
The
essence of this categorization is to bring into focus that communities have
several segments very vital for the promotion of environmental protection and
sanitation. The new trend of behavioural or altitudinal change globally entails
that decisions that will impact positively on the people (including safety of
the environment will ideally involve a broad range of stakeholders who stand as
beneficiaries. Therefore the planning, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of Environmental protection and sanitation should be done
collectively through adequate representation of the stakeholders and the
government. (State, LGA). This will pave way for the collective ownership of
the programme.
The
Roles of the community in the environmental protection, sanitation and disease
control programme are enomous. For them to perform and contribute effectively
to this programme they require adequate sensitization and commitment.
(i) Everyone must be made to know about the
adverse effects of poor sanitation and personal hygiene practices which
includes air, water, soil pollution and food contamination that may result in
increase of mortality and morbidity rates and other health hazards in community.
(ii) To see sanitation as not the
responsibility of the government alone but that of everyone in the community
which they must protect and sustain at all cost for the interest of all and
future generation.
(iii) To see the great need for positive
attitudinal or behavioral change in environmental cleanliness and applying
religiously the personal hygiene practices in order to reduce infections.
(iv) They should always be reminded the slogan
that “a healthy community is a wealthy community and “the health of one man is
the health of others” and an “Injury to one is an injury to all”
SUMMARY
The effects of
environmental protection through sanitation and effective personal hygiene
practices have impacted positively on the societies or communities throughout
human history. Sanitation is a necessity for a healthy life. The results of
studies published in griffins public sanitation shows that better
sanitation produces an enhanced feeling of well-being. On the contrary many
countries and communities are struggling with diseases due to unhealthy living
conditions and unfiltered water all in the name of bad sanitation or not having
access to potable drinking water.
This
underscores the importance of environmental protection, sanitation and
effective personal hygiene for any meaningful socio-economic and political
development. The entire LGA chairmen and Development centre coordinators and
every community stakeholder should realize this and accord relevant supports to
the programme morally and financially.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Government (state local) should provide
and release enough funds for environmental protection and sanitation
authorities to enable them meet with the demands of public health. Our leaders
should note that prevention is better and cheaper than cure.
2. Provide functional and adequate
sanitary equipments and other logistics to improve on the services of the
health workers.
3. Provide a sanitarily designated waste
disposal sites and collection dumps to reduce further environmental pollutions.
4. Recruit more environmental health
officers to effectively manage the environment because the present number of
EHO’s is very Insignificant in meeting the demands of environmental protection
and sanitation.
5. Review public health law of 1963 and
EBSEPA edicts to meet the demands of the day. However the Ebonyi State
Government should be commended for the environmental Health Law.
6. Government should provide adequate
potable water for the populace.
7 Provide sanitary facilities (latrines,
and waste disposal dustbins) in schools, markets and public places.
8. Mount aggressive health Education
campaign on the need to change our attitudes towards environmental sanitation and
to religiously adopt personal hygiene practices in the community. The success
of this will guarantee a positive behavioral or attitudinal change vital for
meaningful development of the community in all facets.
8. There is the great need for the
Government – (state, local), the health workers (EHOS), all stakeholders and
the entire public to imbibe the current behavioral/attitudinal change being
propagated by the state Government. They should realize that Environmental
sustainability is a collective affair, because the health of one man is the
health of all and injury to one is an injury to all.
REFERENCES
Encyclopallia Americana vol. 10
international edition Pp. 479-491
(1998) The World Book Encyclopedia vol.
6 Pg. 329-338.
The new Encyclopedia Britannica vol. 17
Pg. 979-982.
(1995) An introduction to global
environmental Issues Kevin Pick et al Pg. 251-263.
Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia on
SANITATION.
WHO & UNICEF types of improved
drinking water sources on JMP website.
WHO & UNICEF Progress on drinking
water and sanitation: Special focus on Sanitation.