Challenges of Environmental Health in Nigeria

Challenges of Environmental Health in Nigeria - Femi Abolade

Even though the environmental health profession predates Nigeria's independence and is one of the oldest in the Nation, it has not been accorded the recognition it deserves over the years. The emergence of EHORECON by the Act 11, 2002 have done little to change the trend (although it could have been worse without it).

Practitioners in many states have been battling with how to ensure the continued relevance of the profession in modern day realities as there are hawks waiting to prey on any available lacuna. In many states of the Federation, activities of the Environmental Health Officers are not seen, and where they try to force visibility, they aren't given the needed credit.

Rate of unemployment in the profession is not only high but alarming. Although it would be unfair to feel that malaise affect only the cadre, but ours is quite obvious. It is also note worthy that the viability of the profession has made it a coveted bride by all Tom, Dick and Harry.

What are the causes of these numerous challenges facing the environmental health profession in Nigeria?

1. Environmental Health Practitioners
Yes! You saw that correctly. The greatest challenge of the profession are the professionals themselves. It's really unfortunate that many of the practitioners are not making any impact nor creating any value for their pay in the system. Many EHOs are not even going to their offices and even when they do, it's in mufty doing nothing but spreading gossips and selling irrelevances. What a shame!

Many of us cannot stand to defend the course of the profession among other allied health practitioners, especially the medical officers. We have shown no reason why the profession should be exclusively yours and preserved for you. No serious government want to keep spending money on unprofitable ventures. Hence the snub of preventive health care to the advantage of the more visible curative health care.

2. Lack of Media Presence
"If you fail to blow your own trumpet, no one will blow it for you" is an ancient axiom. One of the reasons people still clamour for the reintroduction of the Sanitary Inspector of old is because of their presence that was felt in every part of the nation. Today, we may not want to create the same fear factor, but can't we replace it with our visibility?

Can't we just make use of the Press to showcase our activities to the world? We must understand that bad news sells fast and it's free. Or at least, it's cheap. Our continued lack of presence in the news makes it seems like we no longer exist. We will continue to remain irrelevant, obscure, outdated and of no use if we fail to see the need to spend a token to keep the profession and it's activities and actions in the news.

Everyday, Sanitarians all over Nigeria inspect hundreds of thousands of houses and other premises, prosecute defaulters in Customary and Magistrate courts, seal unhygienic premises, seize and condemn unsound food products, carry out EIA activities, give health education, solve waste problems, carry out pest control activities and so on, yet the government seems not to care because we fail to project our own image through the electronic, print and social media.

3. Politics, Politicians and Government Policies
Despite the fact that democracy still remains one of the best form of government in the world today, it's effect on environmental health in this part of the world has been negative. In Nigeria, almost everything is politicised. Security, health, education, business and even the environment. The politician, whose job is to do all he can to win elections, will do all he can to stop the EHO from doing his job while canvassing for votes.

"Those are our people who voted for us", they will often say. There have been cases where Local government chairman brought thugs to beat up officers who were prosecuting sanitation defaulters in the court of law. Cases abound of High ranking politicians who call officers during the course of duty to stop further action against houses with filled up toilets. One of our Deputy Directors was almost crushed to death by a politician who dared stopped his care during monthly Environmental sanitation exercise.

Unstable government policies is also a bane of the environment. Lack of continuity in policies does not help. The Environmental health Officer is caught up in the middle of all these drama and he now looks like an incompetent fool when these policies begin to crumble like pack of cards, even though he wasn't part of the planning ab initio.


Let's continue later.

Femi Abolade, licensed EHO, Writer, author and public speaker
femibolade12@gmail.com
+234 8074275257