The President, Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN), FCT Chapter, Mr Ismaila Dankogi has called for the return of sanitary officers to combat the rising cholera outbreaks in several Nigerian states.
Dankogi, in an interview on Friday in Abuja, linked the cholera epidemic to poor sanitary conditions and practices.
According to Dankogi, the spread of cholera, often caused by consuming contaminated food or water, necessitates the need for proper sanitation and hygiene.
Dankogi said that the ongoing cholera outbreak revealed the country’s neglect of sanitation and the essential role of sanitary officers, renamed Environmental Health Officers.
He recalled the days when the officers, colloquially called “Wole Wole” or “Duban Gari,” were highly respected and conducted regular house-to-house and market inspections to prevent such outbreaks.
“The recent outbreak of the disease in some states in Nigeria reflects the neglected attention given to sanitation in the country and the role of sanitary officers currently referred to as Environmental Health Officers.
“Sanitary-related diseases were minimal when officers actively performed inspections.
“However, today, the profession has been largely ignored, and trained officers have not been employed for over a decade.”
Dankogi pointed out that the World Health Organisation recommended one Environmental Health Officer for every 8,000 people, a standard that Nigeria failed to meet.
He said most states and local governments, including the FCT lacked sufficient sanitary officers to conduct essential environmental health activities.
Dankogi called for urgent action from all levels of government to reinstate and properly equip sanitary officers.
“To get it right, we need to bring back our sanitary officers to perform their statutory roles, including sanitary inspections, ensuring every household has a toilet, protecting water sources, proper waste disposal and general health education,” he said.
The president urged immediate government intervention to hire and support sanitary officers to prevent further outbreaks of communicable diseases.
He, however, urged robust and sustained efforts in environmental health and sanitation.
According to the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the cholera outbreak has resulted in 63 deaths and 2,102 suspected cases as of Wednesday.
NAN
