Poor sanitation and hygiene have been identified as responsible for a significant percentage of preventable communicable diseases particularly in developing countries including Nigeria.
To prevent further spread of diseases, experts at this year’s commemoration of the national environmental sanitation day in Abuja, agree that there is a need to improve measures to reduce the country’s disease burden through ensuring sustainable waste management by stopping open dumping.
The emergence and re-emergence of diseases in Nigeria has brought to light the fact that access to sanitation and hygiene is not only a fundamental human right that safeguards public health and humanity but also it is an essential part of disease prevention.
More than three point five million children suffer from diarrheal diseases leading to a large number of under five deaths due to sanitation and hygiene enabled diseases.
This year’s theme of the national environmental sanitation day is “Promoting sustainable waste management for a healthy environment: stop open dumping”
Experts at an event believe this is timely considering the important role sanitation and hygiene play in the prevention and control of the transmission of infectious diseases.
A huge proportion of people live without access to basic sanitation with less than half of the Nigerian population having access to improved sanitation facilities.
The government and other stakeholders are now being urged to help promote the importance of sanitation and hygiene practices being an intrinsic part of everyday life for citizens throughout communities.
Sanitation and hygiene campaigns will be set up across the country as an effective means of controlling and preventing disease transmission, but the reality still remains that city centres, communities and households still battle with the problem of waste management.
