By Francesca Hangeior.
The Federal Government has advised Nigerians to imbibe good personal and environmental hygiene to curb the spread of cholera in the country.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Mahmud Kambari, said this on Saturday at an event to commemorate the 2024 National Environmental Sanitation Day in Piwoyi, a suburb community in the Federal Capital Territory.
The National Environmental Sanitation Day is held on June 28 yearly to create adequate awareness of the significance of personal and environmental hygiene among Nigerians.
Kambari, who was represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health in the ministry, Olubunmi Olusanya, said the purpose is to create awareness among the Nigerian populace on the importance of sanitation practices as a veritable means of controlling and preventing communicable diseases.
He said, “Currently in the country, we are faced with the challenge of a cholera outbreak as you all know is caused by bacteria infection, which is spread through contaminated water or food as a result of unhygienic practices.
“For us to stop this, we need to imbibe good environmental sanitation practices, for example, open defecation is one of the primary causes of cholera.”
He stated that the government will continue to partner with the community to ensure that the community is adequately clean.