Pollution, Environmental Degradation Threatening Public Health, Medical Experts Warn

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

Medical Laboratory Science experts have warned that environmental degradation and pollution are fast posing threats to global health and sustainable development, recommending that implementing World Health Organization (WHO) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality standards will help mitigate the danger.

The warning came at the 19th Annual Public Health Lecture organised by the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), held at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Jos, Plateau State.

Themed ‘Environmental Degradation and Pollution: Advancing Public Health for a Sustainable and Healthy Community’, the event featured a keynote address delivered by Plateau State Deputy Governor, Ngo Josephine Piyo, represented by the Chief Medical Director of Plateau Hospital, Prof. Christopher Yilgwan.

Piyo stressed that human activities, especially industrial pollution, have significantly deteriorated environmental quality, leading to serious health consequences.

“Industrial pollutants are releasing massive amounts of harmful substances into the air, impacting human health. Global waste is projected to rise to 3.4 billion tons by 2050,” he stated.

She added that environmental degradation and pollution are major determinants of national life expectancy, influencing health and economic development. “While climate change affects everyone, its impact is not equally distributed; factors like income and population density play a major role in determining who suffers most.”

The deputy governor noted that long-term exposure to polluted air can lead to the accumulation of harmful particles in the lungs and blood vessels, increasing the risk of asthma, cardiovascular diseases, and other health issues, adding that water pollution has left many communities without access to potable water, resulting in outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

She identified additional contributors to environmental degradation, including the indiscriminate use of pesticides, nitrogen-based fertilisers, poor waste management, and urbanisation.

Air pollution, she warned, is the leading environmental health risk globally, causing an estimated seven million premature deaths annually.

“This is roughly equivalent to the global death toll from COVID-19 since March 2020,” she said.

Citing WHO data, she revealed that about 1.7 billion people globally use drinking water contaminated with fecal matter, contributing to the deaths of approximately 1.4 million people annually due to poor sanitation, hygiene, and unsafe water.

To mitigate these troubling challenges, the deputy governor recommended some solutions, including implementing WHO and EPA air quality standards, using catalytic converters in vehicles, legislating emission control standards, encouraging leadership from the health sector, promoting community health programmes, reducing plastic use and improving recycling, proper disposal of household chemicals and waste, ensuring proper vehicle maintenance, avoiding harmful pesticides, advocating for clean-up and sanitation efforts, supporting sustainable dietary choices such as vegetarianism, and ensuring sustainable water management.

Meanwhile, President of AMLSN, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, said that the annual lecture serves as a vital platform for tackling urgent public health issues.

“When air, water, and land are unsafe, public health is compromised. We are facing a public health emergency,” he warned.

He called on the government to create and strengthen a Directorate of Medical Laboratory Services within the Ministry of Health and partner with AMLSN to design and implement environmental health interventions.

He also urged the federal government to enforce environmental protection laws, especially concerning illegal mining and unsanctioned oil exploration.

Chairman of the occasion, Hon. Theodore Bala Maiyaki, advocated for the elevation of medical laboratory science as a standalone discipline, calling for stronger professional standards and continued advocacy. He commended AMLSN for expanding professional knowledge and skills through global best practices.

Maiyaki also highlighted the growing challenges in Nigeria’s healthcare system, including inadequate infrastructure, poor diagnostics, underfunding, weak technology integration, and brain drain. “It is impossible to ignore the decay within our healthcare delivery system,” he said.

The event brought together stakeholders committed to addressing environmental health risks and promoting public health through collaborative action.