Callers on a Health programme of Vicinity 95.3FM Radio, Ikeji Ile have called for the return of Sanitation Officers popularly known as Wolewole in the past to enforce a healthy and hygienic environment across Nigeria.
This was the consensus at a special health presentation on a breakfast programme tagged Owuro La wa on Vicinity 95.3FM Radio, situated in Ikeji Ile Ijesa in Oriade local Government of Osun State, to create awareness and warn listeners about the current scourge of cholera epidemic in Nigeria.
The programme presented by Abdul-Fatal Giwa became necessary in the wake of cholera outbreak in Lagos State and some parts of the country recently.
Recently, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has alerted on the break out and increasing cholera cases nationwide, with 30 deaths, 1,141 suspected cases, and 65 confirmed cases reported.
Disclosing this in a public advisory, the Director-General of the Centre, Dr. Jide Idris, said the cases that occurred between January and June 11, 2024, were reported from 96 LGAs in 30 states.
Cholera is a food- and water-borne disease, caused by the ingestion of the organism Vibrio cholera in contaminated water and food, adding that water is usually contaminated by the faeces of infected individuals.
To avert this in Ikeji Ile and Osun State, by extension, Vicinity FM had on its programme a health worker, Mrs. Abiola Osuntusa who was brought on air to create more awareness on what the people could do to avert the menace of cholera case in the community.
The health officer called for good hygiene and cleanliness in handling their food and material needs.
According to her, parents should always take good care of their children, food handlers should also try as much as possible to keep neat and preserve their food items, and they should wash their hands on regular basis.
Contributing the callers advised that it was not enough to create awareness by speaking on radio but the government should go a step further to enforce discipline among parents and members of the community, and to do this effectively at the grassroot would be enforcement by government sanitation officers formerly known as Wolewole.
Their duty was to go from house to house, community to community to ensure that residents keep a healthy and hygienic environment.
Mr. Azeez Arowosafe, calling from Ikeji Ile advised that government agencies and the people should work together to ensure that the environments were kept tidy, neat and hygienic so that harmful diseases would not be spread around from one person to the other, and from one community to the other. Prince Kehinde Ogunmokun calling from Akure enjoined the government to empower the health workers to do their works as expected.
The anchor, Abdul-Fatai Giwa pointed out different ways by which people carelessly display their food items without cover thereby giving ways to food infections and spread of various diseases including cholera, advising listeners to ensure that their food are covered to avert avoidable diseases.
They attributed cholera spread to exposure of food items, without cover, careless handling of food materials like gari, cassava flour and raw meat. They also explained that careless mothers who do not properly wash their hands after taking care of their children could lead to the spread of the flies that cause cholera.
Mrs. Osuntusa explained different measures in place by the government and she called on the people to take advantage and make the best use of different government programmes to avoid health hazards in the country.
She stressed that the government was trying its best but the people should take very important the issue of hygiene in their homes, childcare, by washing their hands with clean water always, and where the public notice any disease they should not waste time to report at the nearest health centre, clinic, hospitals and maternity.
It is believed that cholera can spread through contamination of drinking water at the source, during transportation, or during storage at home. Food may be contaminated by soiled hands, either during preparation or while eating.
“Beverages prepared with contaminated water and sold by street vendors, ice, and even commercial bottled water have been implicated as vehicles of transmission, as have cooked vegetables and fruits freshened with untreated wastewater.
It was explained that people at risk, include people of all ages living in places with limited access to clean water, among others.
The disease can be prevented by ensuring access to safe, potable drinking water, proper sanitation and waste disposal, and appropriate hygiene, including handwashing.
In the same vein, the Director-General of the the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, has advised Nigerians to reduce the risk of cholera by ensuring that water is boiled and stored in a clean, covered container before drinking.
He said people should practise good personal hand hygiene by washing their hands frequently with soap under clean running water, ensure that food is well cooked before consumption, avoid open defecation, indiscriminate refuse dumping, ensure proper disposal of waste and frequent clearing of sewage, among others.
He urged health workers to always practice standard safety precautions, that is, wearing gloves while handling patients or providing care to an ill patient/relative, intensify surveillance efforts to promptly report suspected cholera cases.
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