By Sarah NEGEDU
The rapid population growth and enlarging slums across the Federal Capital Territory is contributing to the increase in outbreak of infectious diseases like Cholera and Lassa.
Though the FCT Health and Human Service Secretariat has declared that Territory currently has no cases of cholera and Lassa fever, it noted that the stretching of infrastructure due to population growth encourages unsanitary practices like open defecation.
The Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, Dr Abubakar Tafida, who stated this at a briefing to mark the 2022 World Health Day, advised residents to stop practices that harmful to the environment.
Tafida said in line with this year’s world health day theme, ‘Our planet, Our Health ‘Abuja residents should be proactive in safeguarding the planet, and help the government with development partners in promoting hygienic practices.
Already he said the Administration has mapped out measures to prevent disease outbreak and improve residents’ wellbeing.
For instance, at the secondary health care level, Tafida said the hospitals are being repositioned with increased drug revolving fund.
He explained that the disbursement and utilization of the Basic Health Care Provision fund in the 62 selected Primary Health Care facilities have also been harmonized.
He said the initiative was to strengthen the FCT health system through improved monitoring and supervision of service delivery and high level engagement of communities.
Tafida said as the rains started in May last year, the cholera outbreak was confirmed in the FCT, which the significant number of the cases were in slum settlements that are due to contamination of their water sources by human waste washed into them by the rains.
He disclosed that the World Health Organisation had estimated that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes.
He warned that climate crisis is a single biggest health threat facing humanity stressing that, “Our political, social and commercial decisions have led to the production and consumption of highly processed and unhealthy food that have caused the current wave of obesity, increase occurrence of cancers, heart disease and uncontrolled rise of gas emission and global warming.”
