PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION EXERCISES ON PUBLIC HEALTH: (A STUDY OF ONITSHA NORTH LGA)

ABSTRACT: The study examined public perception of the effects of environmental sanitation exercise on public health in Onitsha North Local Government Area. Onitsha North metropolis presents a ghastly picture; the neglect of filled refuse bins in recent times has its effect on the inhabitants. Many areas around the homes are littered with domestic refuse sewage waste, garbage and other waste from industrial operations. The Functionalist Theory, Marxist Theory and Symbolic Internationalism Theory were reviewed in the study, while functionalist theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. The sample size of the study was 200 participants selected through multi staged sampling technique which involves the simple random sampling method. Questionnaire schedule and in-depth interview guide were the instruments used for data collection. The findings were manually analysed using frequency tables and simple percentage. The findings indicated that Female gender are more likely to regularly participate in environmental sanitation exercise than their male counterpart gender. There was also a significant relationship between respondent’s highest education qualification and perception of benefit of regular environmental sanitation exercises. The researcher recommended that public enlightenment on benefits of environmental sanitation exercise should be enhanced to stimulate increased participation of residents of Onitsha North LGA. It was also recommended that legislations should be enforced concerning indiscriminate dumping of refuse at road-sides and nonparticipation in the regular community sanitation exercise. Defaulters should be made to face the full wrath of the law.

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Distribution of Respondents Socio-Demographic Characteristics Variables

Table 2: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on if inhabitants of Onitsha North LGA observe and participate in organized monthly environmental sanitation exercise.

Table 3: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on how often sanitation exercise is normally conducted in Onitsha North LGA.

Table 4: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on whether the culture of the inhabitants of Onitsha North LGA encourages regular environmental sanitation exercise.

Table 5: Distribution of respondents by their view on the factors that hinders inhabitants of Onitsha North LGA from participating fully in organized environmental sanitation exercises.

Table 6: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on what other agencies/organizations apart from Federal, State and Local government organizes and mobilize residents of Onitsha North LGA on regular basis for environmental sanitation exercises

Table 7: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on how Non-governmental organization (NGO’s) and other private organizations organize and mobilize residents of Onitsha North LGA for regular environmental sanitation exercises.

Table 8: Distribution of respondents by their view on if the efforts employed by NGO’s, communities and Private Organizations have yielded positive results.

Table 9: Distribution of respondents by their view on if there is a high level of support/participation of the people of Onitsha North LGA towards all forms of Environmental sanitation exercise and waste disposal.

Table 10: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on who is responsible for the cleaning of gutters, drainages, and surroundings in Onitsha North LGA.

Table 11: Distribution of respondents by their view on how residents participate in Environmental sanitation exercise in Onitsha North LGA.

Table 12: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on how often they personally participate in environmental sanitation exercise in your area.

Table 13: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on if residents of Onitsha North LGA are aware of the implications of poor waste management and environmental sanitation exercise.

Table 16: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on whether they believe that there are measures that could be put in place to ensure full participation in regular environmental sanitation exercise in Onitsha LGA.

Table 17: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on factors militating against the effectiveness and efficiency of waste management and environmental sanitation exercise in Onitsha North LGA by appropriate authorities.

Table 18: Distribution of respondents by their opinion on measures that will be put in place to ensure effective and efficient environmental sanitation exercise

Table 19: Female gender are more likely to always/regularly participate in environmental sanitation exercise than their male counterpart gender.

Table 20: There is a significant relationship between respondent’s highest education qualification and perception of benefit of regular environmental sanitation exercises.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study

In its modern concept, environment includes not only water, air and soil but also the social and economic conditions under which we live (Park, 2011). The key to man’s health lies largely in his environment. In fact, much of man’s ill-health can be traced to adverse environmental factors such as water, soil and air pollution, poor housing conditions, presence of animal reservoir and insect vectors of diseases which pose threats to man’s health. Often, man is responsible for the pollution of his environment through urbanization, industrialization and other human activities.

According to the National Sanitation Foundation of USA, the word sanitation is defined as a way of life that is expressed in the clean home, farm, business, neighborhoods and community (Park, 2011). Also, World Health Organization (WHO) defines sanitation as the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces (UNICEF AND WHO, 2012). Hence, inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across communities. The word ‘sanitation’ also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions through services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal. In addition, environmental sanitation exercise according to World Health Organization is the control of all those factors in man’s physical environment which exercise or may exercise a deleterious effect on his physical development, health and survival. It could also be seen as the principle and practice of effecting healthful and hygienic conditions in the environment to promote public health and welfare, improve quality of life and ensure a sustainable environment (Alabi, 2010).

The essential components of environmental sanitation exercise include: solid waste management; medical waste management; excreta and sewage management; food sanitation; sanitary inspection of premises; market and abattoir sanitation; adequate potable water supply; school sanitation; pest and vector control; management of urban drainage; control of reared and stray animals; disposal of the dead animals; weed and vegetation control; hygiene education and promotion. In most developing countries adequate environmental sanitation has not been strictly adhered to. For example in some parts of Nigeria, living with waste as part of the natural environment has become a way of life. Although there has been a remarkable improvement from what it used to be in the late eighties/early nineties, there is still much to be done as Lagos, and some of our major cities such as Port Harcourt, Onitsha, etc has been depicted a vast slum (Alabi, 2010).

In the United States, slum is often used to refer to marginalized neighborhoods, but in developing countries, it usually means a settlement built in or near a city by residents themselves, without official authorization or regulation. Such housing units are typically substandard, and the infrastructure and services range from nonexistent to improvise. Furthermore, lack of adequate environmental sanitation exercise is responsible for about a quarter of the total burden of disease worldwide and as much as 30% in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. As many as 13 million deaths can be prevented every year by making our environments healthier. These facts and figures highlight the impact of environmental factors on public health.

More than 2.4 billion people in the world currently lack access to adequate sanitation and are forced to dispose of their excreta in unimproved and unsanitary conditions. Those who suffer from this, lack most basic human needs and also tend to be victims of poverty, ill health and an overall poor quality of life (WHO, 2013). In developing countries like Nigeria, the main diseases of the environment are diarrhea disease, lower respiratory infections, unintentional injuries, and malaria. In children under the age of five, one third of all disease is caused by the environmental factors such as unsafe water and air pollution (WHO, 2010). The poor state of environmental sanitation exercise in the country has been shown to play a significant role in the etiology of food borne diseases. One of the most significant diseases that arise from poor environmental sanitation exercise is diarrhea. Deaths resulting from diarrhea are estimated to be between 1.6 and 2.5 million every year (WHO, 2012).

National records show that every year, about six hundred thousand (600,000) episodes of diarrhoea occur in children under the age of five (Alabi, 2010). Similarly, there have been increasing numbers of cases of cholera over the years. From January to December 2010, Nigeria reported 41,787 cases including 1,716 deaths from 222 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 18 States of the country. The most affected states were Borno, Bauchi and Katsina. In addition to the disease burden, Nigeria loses about N455 billion annually which is equivalent to 1.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), due to poor environmental sanitation exercise as reported by water and sanitation program of the World Bank (Vanguard 2013). Most of the affected are young children below the ages of five. Other diseases that are caused by poor environmental sanitation exercise include schistosomiasis, trachoma, soil transmitted helminthiases, and malaria (WHO, 2013).

Vector-borne diseases constitute major health problems in Nigeria. Malaria, a highly endemic vector borne disease, remains one of the five leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children below the age of five years and pregnant women. It also accounts for remarkable economic loss thus contributing significantly to poverty and underdevelopment. Malaria along with other important endemic vector-borne diseases such as Onchocerciasis (River Blindness) and other Filariasis, Schistosomiasis, Yellow Fever and Trypanosomiasis have remarkable social, economic and political implications.

While their spread is often enhanced by factors such as population growth, urbanization, the opening up of previously sparsely inhabited areas for development projects, migrations, refugees, and conflicts; previous efforts to control them with massive and widespread use of chemicals (pesticides) have had serious consequences on the quality of the environment Poor environmental sanitation exercise accounts for almost 50 percent of a child being underweight since it has a direct link to diarrhea. Sanitation is a serious issue that is affecting most parts of the world especially the developing countries. On a global scale, the most affected are children who in most cases lose their lives due to diseases caused by poor sanitation.

A pleasant environment that promotes healthful living and is hazard free is a fundamental right of all Nigerians. There is an increasing national consciousness on the need for judicious management of the Nigerian environment in a sustainable manner. Therefore, ensuring improved Environmental Sanitation exercises has become high on the political agenda of Government in the democratic dispensation. This was demonstrated in the creation of the Federal Ministry of Environment to address amongst other things, the problems of poor Environmental Sanitation exercise and is expected to engender improved productivity and foster equitable share of the job and joy of national economic development. One of the essential public health care elements is provision of safe drinking water and sanitation. However, deposition of faecal matter near homes, contamination of sources of drinking water (sometimes caused by poorly designed or maintained sewage system), dumping of refuse and sweeping into the gutters, defecating and disposing of faeces by the street corners and waterways and selling of food stuffs and cooked food by the road side are all unwholesome practices that pose potential risk to the development of diseases. Water quantity is as important as water quality. Washing of hands after defecation and before preparing food is of particular importance in reducing disease transmission, as has been demonstrated by Nigeria’s recent control over Ebola Viral Disease. Poor housing also contributes to poor environment health and its consequent input in the health of the urban dwellers. Measures for the prevention of cholera mostly consist of providing clean water and proper sanitation to populations who do not yet have access to basic services. Health education and good food hygiene are equally important. The environmental sanitation-related diseases exacerbate poverty by diminishing productivity and household income. In addition, the national cost of lost productivity,

Reduced educational potential and huge curative health costs constitute a major drain on the local and national economy. Besides, a dirty environment with its attendant health consequences, prevailing in most of our cities, can discourage tourists/investors and undermine the economic benefit of tourism to the country. Consequently, wide-ranging actions are required to solve environmental eanitation exercise problems in order to reduce and avert their adverse health, economic and developmental effects. Therefore, this study assesses public perception of the effects of environmental sanitation exercise on public health in Onitsha North Local Government Area.

• Statement of the Problem

Ethically, the beauty of any environment lies on its good sanitary conditions. This is so because, when an environment is clean the lives of citizenry are not threatened by illnesses and disease. Proper refuse disposal management involves the dumping of waste materials from our homes, industries and public outfits at a specific place or in a government provided containers and the control and removal of refuse from places where they can cause hazards to a place where they are less hazardous to public health.

In contemporary Nigeria, the unabated degradation of the natural resources of land, water, air and vegetation in man’s quest for development and growth has sparked up the great concern for the public health of the populace in Onitsha North Local Government Area in Anambra state. Onitsha North metropolis presents a ghastly picture; the neglect of filled refuse bins in recent times has its effect on the inhabitants. Many areas around the homes are littered with domestic refuse sewage waste, garbage and other waste from industrial operations. Industrial operations are characterized by large volume of toxic waste, and some of these wastes are toxic with negative effect on our environment and health of the inhabitants.

The issue of providing efficient environmental sanitation exercise in Onitsha North Local Government and Anambra state has a whole has been a target for most of the leaders in Anambra State. This has led to the establishment of ASWAMA (Anambra State Waste Management Agency), and a general sanitation exercise to be held every last Saturday of the month, but this has not produced any meaningful change. Despite the provision of refuse receptacles by the government, many people still prefer dumping refuses at places they consider convenient to them. People seem not to be aware of the interrelatedness of dirty environment and diseases. Victims of environment related diseases like malaria fever, typhoid fever, dysentery and others seem to be on the increase in Onitsha North Local Government Area.

Indiscriminate refuse dumping affects quality of water and air of which the people seem not to be aware. Public educational programmes that enlighten the public on the health implications of indiscriminate refuse dump are almost non-existence. Mass media seem not to be doing enough to create awareness about implications of indiscriminate refuse dump. It was against this background that the researcher embarked on this research to appraise the effects of environmental sanitation exercise on public health in Onitsha North Local Government Area.

• Research Questions

The study was designed to address the following questions;

1. To what extent do the inhabitants of Onitsha North LGA observe or participate in monthly national as well as state and local government organized environmental sanitation in their area?
2. What other agencies/organizations apart from Federal, State and Local government which organizes and mobilize residents of Onitsha North LGA on regular basis for environmental sanitation exercises in their areas?
3. What is the level of support/participation of the people of Onitsha North LGA towards all forms of Environmental sanitation exercise and waste disposal in their area?
4. What are the perceived positive and negative effects of the level environmental sanitation exercise on public health in Onitsha North LGA?
5. What measures are put in place to ensure regular environmental sanitation exercise and peoples full participation in such exercise in Onitsha North LGA?
   • Objectives of the Study

The General objective of this study is to ascertain the effects of environmental sanitation exercise on public health in Onitsha North Local Government Area. The specific objectives include;

1. To determine the extent by which inhabitants of Onitsha North LGA observe or participate in monthly national as well as state and local government organized environmental sanitation in their area.
2. To identify other agencies/organizations apart from Federal, State and Local government which organizes and mobilize residents of Onitsha North LGA on regular basis for environmental sanitation exercises in their areas.
3. To examine the level of support/participation of the people of Onitsha North LGA towards all forms of Environmental sanitation exercise and waste disposal in their area.
4. To examine the perceived positive and negative effects of the level environmental sanitation exercise on public health in Onitsha North LGA.
5. To identify the measures that could be put in place to ensure regular environmental sanitation exercise and peoples full participation in such exercise in Onitsha North LGA.
   • Significance of the Study

The problem of environmental pollution and degradation today has assumed a serious and gigantic proportion and this threatens the very existence of human society. Environment is the basis of the existence of all the living beings; at the same time, the living beings, including human beings, themselves create environment. Thus, environment and the living world are mutually interdependent. But today, the problem is that, socio-economic development has reached a point that, its speed has so increased and its destructive power is so enhanced such that it is decimating the environment rapidly. Hence, it has become necessary to find out such new paths and methods of development which would not destroy ecology and produce pollution, but would ensure good environmental sanitation exercise at the same time.

Theoretically, the study will add to existing literature on environmental sanitation exercise and public health. This will be very useful to students and other researchers that will in future investigate or do further studies on it.

Practically, this study will help environmental and town planners to understand the need for environmental sanitation which will make it possible for them to develop strategies that will be used to safeguard the environment as a cleaner environment makes it possible for a healthy living. The study would also serve as a major input to the Federal, state and local Governments in designing interventions, programs or activities that will guide effective environmental sanitation exercises in Nigeria.

And to the individuals, and co-operate organizations in Onitsha North LGA, this study will enable them know the importance and the need to participate in regular environmental sanitation exercises. This study will also be of great help and provide the best strategy to the sanitation departments and agencies, concerned with managing environmental sanitation exercise in Onitsha North Local Government Area in carrying out effective environmental sanitation exercise for the Onitsha metropolis.

Again, it will help other Non-Governmental organizations (NGO’s) whose aim is geared towards protecting the environment formulates policies that will lead to environmental cleanliness.

• Definition of Terms

For the purpose of clarity, some words that appear ambiguous are defined below;

Environment: Environment can be seen as the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity.

Environmental Sanitation: Environmental sanitation refers to proper maintenance of trash and garbage to support a health environment.

Environmental Sanitation Exercise: this can be seen as the regular and official maintenance of waste, trash and garbage organized by government, individuals, groups, co-operate bodies, NGO’s, etc to promote a healthy environment.   

Health: The state of being free from physically or psychological disease, illness or malfunction; wellness.

Industrialization: Industrialization is defined as a process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a pre-industrial society (an economy where the amount of capital accumulated is low) to an industrial on (a fully develop capitalist  economy)

Pollution: Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem.

Public Health:  is the control of all factors in human’s physical environment that exercise, deleterious effects on their physical fitness, health or survival.

Sanitation: the can be defined as the hygienic disposal or recycling of waste.

Urban: the process of building towns and cities or making them large or the process of improving the building etc or city.

Waste: is the leftovers, used product whether liquid or solid having no economic value or demand and which must be disposed or thrown away.

Waste Management: refers to the act to maintain acceptable environmental quality, sound public health and creation of aesthetic value.

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