News Blogger: Isaac Eranga
Benin City: Lack of governmental priority, inadequacy of manpower, and poor implementation of projects have been attributed to the unsatisfactory state of the rural environmental health service in Nigeria.
This attribution was made by the Executive Director of Life Boat Initiative for Societal Development - Mr Osarobo Ogbevoen. He said the Nigerian government has not given sufficient priority to rural environmental health.
"Until now, the planning of environmental health Programmes has been conducted in a rather piecemeal haphazard fashion, without any attempt to analyse the needs and determine the objectives. There have been no specific plans for the development of environmental health activities within the framework of general socio-economic development plans, but only a series of uncoordinated'micro-projects', most of which are designed as emergency measures to offset the dangers arising from rapid rural community expansion.
"A more forward-looking approach and the use of prospective studies to help government draw up long-term plans would be highest priority and the government should always consider this activity as an integrated part of national health plans.
"The need to use available national resources for improving sanitation standards is very paramount, and rural environmental health planning is a sine qua non. The success and failure of environmental health will depend on the quality of the supporting administrative structures.
"The programmes should therefore be planned, organised and executedso as to improve the entire rural population and directed towards prevention and control of environmental health disease. In the context of rural areas, these activities should concern water supply, the collection, treatment and disposal of liquid and solid wastes, control of insects, rodents and other vectors, housing and food sanitation", says Life Boat boss.
