The Nation Newspaper

Tag: clean environment

  • Body commits to healthy, clean environment

    Body commits to healthy, clean environment

    Non governmental organisation, The Clean Environment, has reiterated its commitment to clean and healthy environment through awareness and sustainable solutions.

    Speaking at a clean up campaign in Omi-Adio, Ibadan in Oyo State, Convener, Esther Adewole, noted over 200 volunteers with set out to tackle environmental challenges facing the community.

    She said the organisation was motivated by realisation the community was grappling with improper waste disposal practices.

    Read Also: Ogun tasks Kara cattle traders over clean environment

    “From clearing streets to tidying up spaces, effort was made to revitalise the community and instil pride in residents,” she added.

    She said the group is also visiting schools and communities to conduct educational sessions on environmental sustainability.

    Adewole said it is raising awareness on importance of environmental conservation and empowering community to take action.

  • Lions Club backs clean environment

    Lions Club backs clean environment

    TO ensure a clean environment on Lagos Mainland, Lions Club has erected four sign posts bearing “Clean Nigeria” in four communities.
    The unveiling of the Clean Nigeria signposts in Alagomeji, Yaba, Abule Oja, and Jibowu Roundabout brought together members of the club.
    The Second Vice President of the club District, Governor Dupe Dada, said the erection of the signposts was to create awareness and advocacy on clean environment and sanitation in Lagos State.
    She said that it was evident that parts of Lagos are dirty and this has health implications for the people, stating that all stakeholder must play their part in making the state not only peaceful but safe to live in.
    “We are committed to a clean environment and we are working with the local governments and other relevant stakeholders in Lagos State to make it a reality”, she said.
    She noted that Lions Club was celebrating its centinnial and “we are working on the common goal of serving 100 million people through our pro-people programmes.”
    She added that the four cardinal areas of Lions Club include feeding the hungry, youth empowerment, sight and clean and healthy environment which are germane for national growth and development.

  • Residents urged to keep clean environment 

    Residents urged to keep clean environment 

    As part of measures to enhance the well-being of residents of Ikeja Local Government Area, Lagos State, the Executive Secretary of the council Mr Adekunle Dally-Adeokun has urged the people to ensure that their surroundings are neat at all times. This, he said, would prevent them from being affected by some life-threatening health challenges, even as he added that clean environment would ensure their good health.

    Mr Dally-Adeokun spoke while inspecting the extent of compliance by residents of the area to the monthly environmental sanitation exercise held last Saturday. He appealed to the residents to co-operate with the council in its efforts to rid the area of filth and garbage, so as to promote healthy environment.

    The council chief also pledged to work towards ensuring that residents of various communities have attitudinal change on the environment.

    He noted that “clean environment translates to having access to safe water, low risks to health from micro-organisms proliferating in the environment as well as the physical cleanliness of the individuals. It also entails a conscious attitudinal change towards safe disposal of generated domestic wastes.

    “Our failure to adequately manage the environment contributes enormously to the burden of health care related infections; a burden of disease that we know can be substantially reduced to the benefit of both the affected persons and the health care system itself.”

    Mr. Dally-Adeokun maintained that sustainable development evolves through a realisation that there is a great relationship between the environment and the economy; where the environment is poorly maintained, there is the likelihood that there would be extreme poverty. Our economy is facing towering challenges that call for bold, constructive ideas on how our environment can best be taken care of.

    “Having a clean environment has many benefits. These benefits are long-lasting and guide us to a healthy living. These include prevention of diseases such as cholera, malaria and also tetanus,” he added.

    He, however, expressed regret that some residents, almost always have disregard for proper waste disposal system, even as he said they indiscriminately dump garbage in water channels, an action he said could result in some discomforting health challenges for the residents.

    ‘’We are appealing to residents to strictly observe environmental sanitation exercise. Today, we are not satisfied with the level of compliance, especially in Ward D and Ward P. We are going to enforce the law. We are giving final notice to those who flout the law.

    ‘’The residents should co-operate with the council to rid the council area of dirt by removing garbage thrown in the drainage system; especially in front their houses.”

    The council would help to evacuate the garbage and also work towards making residents of various communities in the council to maintain clean environment,” he said.

    Corroborating the council chief’s view, the chairman Community Development Committee (CDC), Mr Osinberu Salukaleen said in their monthly Landlords’/ Tenants’ meetings, they would continue to enlighten them on the benefits of keeping their environments clean.

    He lamented the nonchalant attitudes of some of the residents who block water channel through dumping of domestic wastes in them.

    He urged residents of the community to imbibe good sanitation habits as a way of staying healthy and keeping environmental hazards at bay, saying cleanliness is next to Godliness.

    Mr Salukaleen, therefore, urged people of the community to ensure clean environment, saying a dirty environment is a threat to health of children.

    Meanwhile, the council chief, in company of some council officials, inspected some streets such as Obafemi Awolowo, Ipodo and Iiori Moses, among others during exercise.

  • Association makes case for clean environment

    THE Association of Society of Environmental and Health Science Student, Africa , National Open University, Lagos has solicited the cooperation of people for a clean, safe and sustainable environment, as a panacea for a prosperous nation.

    The association’s President, Chief Oshobhaseva Iyasele and Vice President, Ohiagbara James, spoke during a beautification exercise carried out by the association on 24 Road, K Close, Festac Town, Lagos.

    They noted that “a clean environment is the only way of solving the myriad of health challenges bedevilling the country”. They appreciated the work of the former chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government, Comrade Ayodele Adewale for his ingenuity and vision in transforming the through adherence to environmental laws.

    The association helmsmen urged Lagos State Government Akinwunmi  Ambode to provide  an avenue for students of the association to contribute their own quota to the development of Lagos State and Nigeria. They advised residents to plant trees and keep their environment clean.

  • Clean environment’ll prevent asthma, says don

    Clean environment’ll prevent asthma, says don

    Nigerians have been advised to clean their surroundings to reduce asthma risk.

    A consultant chest physician at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), Dr Cyril Chukwu,  gave the advice in Lagos.

    He told The Nation: “Many patients I attended to said they did not experience asthma attack while abroad. This is due to their clean environment.”

    Chukwu said most developed countries pay attention to environmental sanitation and tree planting, among other ecological beautification.

    Good life, he said, will help an asthmatic stay healthy, adding that the poor status of major cities is responsible for their unhealthy index.

    “Things are not working in Nigeria because some gaps need to be filled. When the asthmatics get back, they face the problem of power outage. Frustration alone can trigger an asthma attack before we now talk about unhealthy environment,” he said.

    The medic said industries should be regulated in Nigeria to prevent environmental pollution, saying the latter can also cause asthma.

    “The more advanced a country is, the more civilised it is, the more cases of asthma it has. But the management of asthma in those countries is a lot easier than in Nigeria, among other underdeveloped countries,” he said.

    He said despite the low rate of asthma in Nigeria compared to those of industralised countries, its management is poor. “We do not have as much asthma as the industrialised world but the majority of asthmatics overseas live a better life because of other things they enjoy. Our small number of asthmatic relative to developed countries is no cause for happiness because our small number suffers more, they die early and live a more miserable life. The fact that our number is small is no good news,” Chukwu said.

    He said if Nigeria has better infrastructure, such as industrialised countries, like United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK), among others, the impact of asthma would not be felt.

    Ignorance and poverty, Chukwu said, are two factors which worsen asthma in underdeveloped or third world countries. They contribute to poor environment, he added.

    He said life will be better for the asthmatic when they have better understanding of what a quality lifestyle should be, stressing that ignorance and poverty have been the root of many problems, including asthma.

    The don said there is expertise to treat the disease, adding: “But the main question is, are we moving in the right direction? We cannot get there overnight. It should be a gradual process.”

    He described asthma as a lung disorder that interferes with breathing.

    “The disease can cause serious, recurring episodes of wheezing and breathlessness, known as asthma attacks,” he said.

    Explaining what an asthmatic experiences, he said, they usually have chronic inflammation in the tubes that carry air to the lungs.

    The disease, he said, has no known cure, adding that there are effective strategies to manage or control it.

    The don identified coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness as symptoms of asthma.

     

     

  • Clean environment, ventilation can stop pneumonia, says expert

    Clean environment, ventilation can stop pneumonia, says expert

    A chest and respiratory physician at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Dr Cyril Chukwu has enjoined Nigerians to clean their environment ahead of the rains to prevent pneumonia.

    According to him, pneumonia, the second killer of children in Nigeria after malaria, is a disease caused by germs  in humans’ lungs.

    Besides, germs are caused by microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, virus and micro-plasma as well as fungi.

    Chukwu spoke of germs as living things that can only be seen under the microscope, saying: “The germs float in the air.”

    Part of preventive measures, the physician said, are clean environment, ventilation and reducing overcrowding in houses, adding: “If people are crowded in a room it can spread to other inhabitants.”

    Everybody, he said, would be dead if the body cannot defend itself against the germs. “The human body has immunity, which helps defend itself against germs but within limit. Humans breathe in millions of germs daily but the body defend itself against them, hence it resists the germs.

    “When the weather is very cold the ability of the body to resist the germs is low. This is because the body’s defence is helped by temperature. The temperature, however, should not be too high or too low.”

    Enzymes, he said, work well in a range of temperature. “When the temperature is too low, the body’s ability to defend itself against germs, which it  breathes in, is reduced and thus allows them to settle in. That is how cold sets in. If there is cold and no germs, there cannot be pneumonia,” he said.

    Moreover, most European and American countries experienced very cold weather, yet there is no pneumonia. Why? This is because their environments are clean and it has been proven that germs thrive in dirty environments.

    “So, for you to have the disease, you must inhale the germs in the air. There are more germs in a dirty environment than a clean one.”

    “The body”, he said, “usually is able to resist the germs but it is a different situation when the germs are overwhelming or when people’s body cannot cope with the load of the germs.” They come down with pneumonia,”he said.

    Dr Chukwu said a cold environment minimises people’s ability to resist the germs.

    “During rainy season, we see more pneumonia patients than in the dry season. We see between five and six patients weekly during the dry season. But, this increases to about 10 weekly during the rainy season. There is a slight increase during the rainy season,” Dr Chukwu said.

    To stop the disease, he said, medical aspect is little, stressing that other professionals have to come in to ensure a clean and conducive environment.

    The government, he said, should have a policy in place to ensure cleanliness. Public enlightenment is equally important, he added.

    Dr Chukwu said too much alcohol and diabetes could aid the disease as well.

    “Nigeria’s challenges are far more serious than not to expend fund to such researches on pneumonia”, Chukwu added.

     

  • Benue council relishes clean environment

    Benue council relishes clean environment

    The chairman of Logo Local Government Area in Ugba, Benue State, Hon. Kester Kyenge faced an unusual challenge on assumption of duty: how to rid the council of filth.

    The streets stank, filled with heaps of rubbish. Its secretariat at Ugba town was scandalously dirty, taken over by reptiles and cockroaches, broken glass and whatnot.

    Instead of clearing the glass, some local government staff usually set the bush on fire and killed rats, a situation that led to strange infernos on blocks of offices within the secretariat.

    Ugba town, the local government headquarters, did not fare better either. Its streets were taken over by heaps of refuse while some streets were impassable.

    Ugba Main Market regarded as the biggest yam market in Benue North, was an eyesore as refuse dumps competed for space with traders.

    Hon. Kyenge has changed all that. Immediately he assumed duty as the council chairman, he set up an environmental task force committee   under the leadership Terzungwe Asom with a mandate to keep Ugba clean.

    Terzungwe Asom swept into action and the entire town and secretariat is now wearing a new look.

    As part of efforts to encourage clean environment, the task force has introduced awards for those with clean business and residential premises.

    The chairman of the task has also won so many awards for his efforts for clearing Ugba town of the massive refuse dumps which had become not just an eyesore but a health hazard.

    Recently the task force organised an award ceremony at Ugba where prizes were given to those whose environments were clean, ranging from residential to business premises. Winners went home with various prizes, including dust bins and cash, depending on the category.

    The chairman told Newsextra that the award is meant to encourage people to keep their environments clean and will continue until Ugba, head quarters of Logo Local Government Area is clean.

    The council secretariat staff, they expressed their happiness working in a clean environment, without any fears of snake attack.

  • Benue council relishes clean environment

    Benue council relishes clean environment

    The chairman of Logo Local Government Area in Ugba, Benue State, Hon. Kester Kyenge faced an unusual challenge on assumption of duty: how to rid the council of filth.

    The streets stank, filled with heaps of rubbish. Its secretariat at Ugba town was scandalously dirty, taken over by reptiles and cockroaches, broken glass and whatnot.

    Instead of clearing the glass, some local government staff usually set the bush on fire and killed rats, a situation that led to strange infernos on blocks of offices within the secretariat.

    Ugba town, the local government headquarters, did not fare better either. Its streets were taken over by heaps of refuse while some streets were impassable.

    Ugba Main Market regarded as the biggest yam market in Benue North, was an eyesore as refuse dumps competed for space with traders.

    Hon. Kyenge has changed all that. Immediately he assumed duty as the council chairman, he set up an environmental task force committee   under the leadership Terzungwe Asom with a mandate to keep Ugba clean.

    Terzungwe Asom swept into action and the entire town and secretariat is now wearing a new look.

    As part of efforts to encourage clean environment, the task force has introduced awards for those with clean business and residential premises.

    The chairman of the task has also won so many awards for his efforts for clearing Ugba town of the massive refuse dumps which had become not just an eyesore but a health hazard.

    Recently the task force organised an award ceremony at Ugba where prizes were given to those whose environments were clean, ranging from residential to business premises. Winners went home with various prizes, including dust bins and cash, depending on the category.

    The chairman told Newsextra that the award is meant to encourage people to keep their environments clean and will continue until Ugba, head quarters of Logo Local Government Area is clean.

    The council secretariat staff, they expressed their happiness working in a clean environment, without any fears of snake attack.