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Enviropreneurship: The Future Starts Here Few days ago, the discussion about Enviropreneurship began on this blog. Interestingly, so many reactions have trailed that piece, especially on facebook. If you haven't read it, I will encourage you to do so. Here is the link to the insightful article: http://femiabolade.blogspot.com.ng/2017/01/enviropreneurship-future-of.html?m=1 Enviropreneurship as we have come to understand is the entrepreneurship part of environment health. Turning this profession into a profitable business which generates income, solves problems and add value. Enviropreneurship, is not for everyone even though it is meant for every one. By everyone here, I mean Environmental health practitioners whether in training, graduate unemployed, underemployed or fully employed. It is meant for everyone because everyone can be an enviropreneur. The sky is so wide for the bird to fly without colliding on one another. That is why even those who have nothing ...

Malaria Prevention and Control: Trying the Environmental Sanitation Approach It is no longer news that Malaria fever is endemic to Nigeria and the entire Sub-saharan Africa and unfortunately it has become a norm in our collective lexicon in this part of the world. Also, many a family already have a budget for the combat of the accepted disease (Malaria tax) that it is no longer shocking, the number of deaths attributed to it on a daily basis. In retrospect, looking at the efforts both the Federal and State governments put into the fight against the Ebola virus scourge that  ravaged parts of the West Africa including Nigeria, even though recorded deaths were low compared to thousands of children under five years and pregnant women dying daily via malaria, so many questions begin to pop up. Do we act so non-challantly because Malaria kills majorly the poor members of the public or what? It is really disturbing. Really, it's not because the government has not done anythin...

Enviropreneurship: The future of Environmental Health Practice Enviropreneurship is coined from two words, environment and entrepreneurship. The environment as we understand it in this context has to do with its health and the practitioners of environmental health while entrepreneurship deals with starting and owning business. For a number of years, we have been made to believe that Environmental health is purely a social service just like its sister, Primary Health care. As much as there are truths in this, things are changing as the world itself changes. Remember that the only constant thing in life is change. However, the future of every professional practice is it's private practice. This was sounded profusely by the immediate past Registrar of EHORECON, San. Augustine Ebisike who has not hidden his love for the entrepreneurial development of environmental health.             Our arguments over the years have been: which part of the profess...

The Commissioner for Health in Plateau, Dr Kunden Deyin, said the state recorded four deaths, while laboratory tests confirmed five cases of Lassa fever since December 2016. The commissioner told the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) on Monday via telephone interview in Jos that 80 per cent of the mortality rate was due to late presentation of patients to health care facilities. Deyin said “the mortality rate is as high as 80 per cent; the reason is that people are reporting very late, Lassa fever is best managed when patients start taking the drug within the first week of contracting the disease. “The symptoms are similar to that of malaria such as nausea, body weakness and joint pains; it is at advanced stage that symptoms such as bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth or private part occur.”The commissioner, who said that getting the drug for the management of Lassa fever was difficult as it was not readily sold in the open market, added that the state was trying to access the...

Solving the Unemployment Debacle in Environmental Health Profession One of the foremost challenges confronting the Environmental Health practice in Nigeria today is the issue of unemployment which has turned our highly intelligent officers into scavengers and rufflers.  To many of the unemployed sanitarians, the leaders and elderly Sanitarians are doing nothing or not enough to solve the imbroglio. Many blames are placed at the feet of EHORECON and EHOAN National and States Executives for this issue. But we must not be unmindful of the fact that Environmental health is not the only profession hit by this malaise of unemployment, it is a general phenomenon. It cuts across professions and class. Arguments have been put forward by many that when State governments place advertisements in the health sector, more often than not, environmental health officers' positions are usually left out. Sadly, this is true. Even when it is being advertised, required degrees are above what t...

The Mastomys rodent, vector of Lassa fever virus Following increasing cases of Lassa fever in the country, the Federal Government has called on Nigerians to maintain high food and personal hygiene. The Federal Government made the call in a statement issued by the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), yesterday. NCDC, while advising Nigerians to keep their foods from rats and other house rodents, urged that suspected Lassa cases be quickly reported to ensure treatment commences on time. Lassa fever virus “Lassa fever is curable when there is rapid laboratory testing to confirm the disease, leading to early commencement of treatment”, it said. Explaining further, the NCDC disclosed that it has confirmed 19 Lassa fever cases so far in seven states namely; Ogun, Taraba, Nasarawa, Edo, Ondo, Rivers and Plateau states. It also revealed that six people have been killed of the disease already, urging health workers to take caution at the cause of their...

Hello wonderful people. Few days ago I shared with you some uncommon vehicles of disease transmission all around us. Here is the conclusion of the list! You can read the first part here @ http://femiabolade.blogspot.com.ng/2017/01/10-uncommon-vehicles-of-diseases.html?m=1 6. Biro/Pen: Have you seen students chop the bottom of the writing pen? Begin to imagine the number of bacteria and viruses that would go into that mouth. Unfortunately, this same pen has gone through unwashed hands, ears and sometimes already used to scratch the buttocks! 7. Earpiece: Your earpiece carries millions of microorganisms out of which bacteria and viruses form a large percentage. This is because the air is filled with abundant microbes which attach itself to gadgets.                   When introduced into the ear, new microbes go along with it and ear infection may likely follow. 8. Public Transport: Because of its nature of being ...

We shall be commencing a new series on this blog and it will be about our heroes in the Environmental Health Profession. Once a week, we will look at their lives so we the young Sanitarians can learn from. Please do enjoy! Environmental Health Icons in Nigeria. Augustine Ebisike: Pioneer Registrar of EHORECON Sanitarian Augustine Onyekachi Ebisike is a thorough bred professional per excellence with a sound and analytical mind with several years of experience in the field of public health, sanitation and environment. As an Environmental Health Officer, his career in the civil service of the Federation was crowned as the Registrar/CEO of Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria. Mr. Ebisike Augustine Onyekachi was born on May 22, 1962 and hails from Obodo Ahiara in Ahiazu-Mbaise LGA of Omo state of Nigeria. He began his environmental health career by attending the Ondo state school of health technology, Akure and obtained his WAHEB Diploma for Public H...

Sanitarian Abonyi Dominic, Registrar EHORECON          EHORECON Organises First Thematic for 2017 Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), the Federal Government agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating the Environmental Health profession in Nigeria announces the first thematic training in the year 2017. This will afford Environmental Health Officers in the nation the opportunity to get the needed credit points for renewing their practice license. Sanitarians listening with rapt attention during a thematic MCPD   In a text message sent out to some members, two trainings which is to hold back to back is themed on Entrepreneurship in Environmental health and Instrumentation and Standard Operation Procedures in Environmental health Practices. The Thematic MCPD is billed to hold between 12th to 13th and 14th to 15th February for the two trainings respectively at Olu Royal Hotel Ltd, phase II Housing...

One of the shanties destroyed in Akute, constructed on the public drain Environmental Health Officers in Akute, a suburb of Ogun State under Ifo Local government, in December 2016 demolished some shanties in the area. The demolition was carried out with the support of the Officers of the Nigerian Police after a court order was secured. Many of these shanties were built on public drainage and water ways leading to the blockage of these drains and disallowing the free flow of storm water. Public drains are essentially made for rain water to prevent flooding.   The area officer in charge of Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Department, Akute area office, Sanitarian Atinuke Sobowale, A. Chief Environmental Health Officer in a statement informed Wolewole.com that many of the illegal structures had to go because of the health hazard they pose to public health. In addition to this, many houses found to contain filled up septic tanks and overflowing faecal matter were...

Dr. Moses Anefiok, immediate past BOT chairman, EHOAN Old BOT Vs New BOT: EHOAN Leaders Fight Dirty. In what tends to be a malignant cancer, refusing to go away, the leadership tussle rocking the Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria, which many thought had been resolved took a new turn. The erstwhile BOT chairman, Dr. Moses Anefiok, took to the print media to protest their removal by the AGM. In a public notice, published in the Leadership Newspaper of Wednesday January 11, 2017 accusing the immediate past National President, San. Zachariyau and his team for their failure to conduct an election in Port Harcourt in 2013 and "for tinkering with the Association's constitution". Dr. Moses Anefiok also referred to the National President San. (Prince) Peter Uwagbale as a factional leader of the Association who hijacked the leadership of the Association from Prince Kola Akinyemi, who, unfortunately is not an EHO but was appointed Caretaker chairman afte...