Re: Second coming of sanitary inspectors

By Ojewale S, A
Thursday, September 02, 2010

The editorial opinion of the Sun Newspaper of Wednesday, august 11, 2010, titled “Second coming of Sanitary Inspectors” was quiet interesting and educative but had traces of insinuations. Definitely, there are no more sanitary inspectors but Environmental Health Officers and searching for the former may be a mirage because the cadre ‘sanitary inspectors’ has metamorphosed to ‘Environmental Health Officers’ (EHO) in a prescribed distinct uniform.

The role of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Environment is collaborative, complementary and symbiotic in policy formulation, implementation and supervision of environmental Health policy, plans and programmes without infringing on or trespassing the constitutions. Modern EHOs have been trained to be persuasive using health education approach rather than being forceful and the use of the public health laws comes as a last resort for the recalcitrant.

With the establishment of Environmental Health Officer Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) by Act 11 of 2002, Environmental Health has become a regulated profession in Nigeria, wherein the practitioners are strictly to practice within the code of ethics of the profession which is a derivative of the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Not everybody in the profession is pious but majority of the EHOs in Nigeria carry out their duties and functions with decorum, sanity and finesse which is a radical departure from what it used to be many decades ago. The Council is always ready to sanction any black-sheep that may be detected among the profession.

Reports of erring officers could be lodged at EHORECON zonal offices in Ningi- Bauchi state, Ibadan, Oyo state, and Owerri, Imo state or directed to the Secretary/Registrar of the Council in Abuja on GSM no 08035978069.
Thus far, EHORECON had registered a little over six thousand EHOs in Nigeria. This number is very meagre to effectively serve Nigeria sprawling population of over one hundred and forty million people. It means one EHO will be serving more than twenty three thousand (23,000) (1:23,000) people. This is a far cry from one EHO to eight thousand people (1:8,000) prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The situation became compounded because there are many states in Nigeria where the total number of EHO is less than five. This is one of the principal causes of poor environmental sanitation in Nigeria today. There are also decay and inadequate sanitary infrastructures and apparent lack of political will in many instances. EHORECON is not pleased with the present situation of sanitation in the areas of waste management, water, food and market sanitation, housing, spread of diseases and the general trends of environmental degradation in Nigeria.

Recently, EHORECON in collaboration with the West Africa Health Examination Board (WAHEB), UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Environment reviewed the syllabi for the training of environmental personnel in Nigeria. The syllabi have been expanded to meet modern and future environmental challenges. The implementation is being monitored.

All practising EHOs in Nigeria have being undergoing Mandatory Continuing Education Programme (MCEP) for re-orientation. The Council is to establish model public health laboratories, libraries and museums in all the six geo-political zones in Nigeria to compliment the efforts of the local and state governments. The Council has other plans in the pipeline.

The Sanitation of Nigeria will drastically improve if the relevant Federal authorities will make it as a matter of policy to recruit among the numerous unemployed trained EHOs and second same to the state Ministry of Environment and local government to complement the dwindling number of EHOs, something like what the Federal Government did to arrest the dwindling number of mid-wives in Nigeria. This is very important because no matter what the Federal Government does to any of the sectors, the environment remains all encompassing and embracing.


S.A. Ojewale represents the Environmental Health officers Registration Council in south-west geo political zone.

Oil Spill: Environment Practitioners Want Compensation from Shell

From Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Okon Bassey in Uyo Thisday 06.30.2010

The leadership of Environmental Health Service Providers Association of Nigeria has asked the Anglo-Dutch oil exploration giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company to commence the process of remediation of all areas affected by its operations and to also ensure that the affected communities are adequately compensated.

Their demand is coming as Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Unlimited, an affiliate of American oil giant, Exxonmobil is battling to contain the effect of oil spill recorded June 20, 2010. The company has also just recorded another spill from its facility. The latest spill was reportedly discharged into the Atlantic Ocean from the Yoho production platform within the Qua Iboe oil fields.

The Association’s National President, Chief Herbert Anyadike, who spoke to journalists in Abuja said based on the experience of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico where the company was compelled by the United States to pay compensation totalling about $20 billion, Shell should also be made to make similar commitment to the people of the Niger Delta.

"You know what use to be in the riverine areas where oil will spill and remain there for many years without anyone taking care of it. Those people who have been here living with this problem over the years and have been clamouring for compensation has been justified.

The United States of America has just opened their eyes to tell Shell that what they did in their country was wrong".
"The Shell company has been short-changing this country and nobody has called them to order, to compensate this country and her people who are victims of victims of oil spillage", he said.

He said with the evolving issues in relation to the threat of oil spill to the safety of the environment and its attendant damage to human health, federal government should prevail on Shell as well any other oil company that spills oil in the Niger Delta to remediate it and pay compensation to the people.

Speaking on measures to improve the state of environmental sanitation in the country, Anyadike said the association is pursuing a mandatory registration of all companies engaged in environemental and sanitation business in Nigeria.
He said only those companies that registers, with the body would be allowed to practice and carry-on their roles as service providers in the environmental sanitation sub-sector.

Anyadike called on government agencies and private organisations to stop patronizing quacks in the award of contracts on sanitation and refuse disposal, adding that it is mandatory for them to demand as an evidence certificate of registration by the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON).

Meanwhile, in a one-paragraph statement announcing the latest oil spill, "Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/MPN Joint Venture, confirms that a discharge occurred at Yoho production platform.According to the official statement, the regulatory authorities were notified and the discharge was dispersed and evaporated".st oil spillage, nothing has been done", he lamented.