FG revises 14-year-old sanitation policy

The federal government has commenced the process of amending the 14-year-old environmental sanitation policy and guideline in order to meet with the present needs and challenges.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Ibukun Odusote, said all the necessary corrections by all stakeholders have been captured in the revised document and made ready for validation.

Speaking at the validation workshop on the Revised National Environmental Sanitation Policy and Guidelines in Abuja recently, she said the policy covers issues such as excreta disposal, solid waste management, pest and vector control, food sanitation and hygiene education  across schools, homes, markets and abattoir, while the action plan provides the operational framework for its implementation.

Represented by the Director of Environmental Impact Assessment, John Alonge, the permanent secretary said the workshop is to further review the documents in detail and validate them for the ongoing efforts as a nation to ensure quality environment that is safe and healthy for the people.

Speaking, the representative of the Navy, Captain James Otache, said the review has become necessary because the impact of providing sanitation policy has not been achieved in Nigeria. He said generation of waste in urban areas in Nigeria is 36 per cent as a result of migrants, adding that it has led to about 16 per cent increase in environmental diseases in the country.

Also, the Permanent Secretary of Borno State Ministry of Environment, Dr. Mohammed Yahaya, said about 80 percent of people in the entire state live in Maiduguri metropolis resulting in a lot of devastation in the city.

He said the state government is taking the issue of solid waste management seriously and appealed to the federal government to assist it in providing working tools that would stand the test of time in addressing the challenges of sanitation.

Meanwhile, the Registrar of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), Dr Dominic Abonyi, said the council will provide technical manpower to the entire sector in the country to achieve the sanitation target.