Environmental health scientists at the University of Ibadan (UI) have used the occasion of the second annual memorial lecture in honour of late Professor M.K.C Sridhar to propose innovative solutions to Nigeria’s environmental health challenges.
The lecture, organised by the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health in collaboration with the Nigeria Network for Awareness and Action for Environmental Health (NINAAFEH) and the Environmental Health Scientists Association of Nigeria (EHSAN), took place at the College of Medicine, UI, Ibadan, on Monday.
Emeritus Professor Layi Egunjobi, the chairman on the occasion, said that the gathering was to celebrate the late Professor Sridhar’s contributions to environmental health and his innovative approaches to environmental health challenges in Nigeria. Some of these challenges, he said, include pollution on land, water, and air. Others include waste management problems which have remained a core problem in Nigeria, as well as lack of collaboration among experts.
Professor Egunjobi said that these issues are intricately linked together, stating that solving them requires a change of tactics and innovative approaches the late professor was known for.
“Let us continue Professor Sridhar’s legacy and work together for a healthier Nigeria,” he added.
The keynote address titled, “Innovative Approaches in Managing Environmental Health Challenges in Nigeria: Insights inspired by the legacy of Prof M.K.C Sridhar,” was delivered by Professor Samuel Agbola, a retired professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the university. He said that diseases such as malaria among others persist because the environmental conditions that people live in support the prevalence of such diseases. “The major issue here is that people get sick because their environment is not conducive for their living. There is no way we’ll talk about environmental health without talking about housing and health. What Professor Sridhar did was to make sure that these things are known and worked upon,” Professor Agbola said.
One of the solutions he proffered was environmental sensitisation. “This does not require much funding to do, yet we don’t do it,” Professor Agbola remarked. Other solutions mentioned include green building technologies, pedestrian-friendly environment, renewable energy sources, waste-to-energy solutions, among others.
He acknowledged the contributions of Kube Atenda community where the department’s environmental research works were demonstrated and challenged researchers to involve more communities in research projects.
The late Emeritus Professor Sridhar, according to Acting Head of Environmental Health Sciences Department, Dr Temitope Laniyan, left India to join the services of the university in 1976. “He contributed immensely to the research world, especially in the area of innovation. His research work cannot be overlooked. Virtually everyone in this department has something to say about Professor Sridhar. He has contributed to what we are today,” she said.
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