Pulse.ng : NBTE, EHCON reshaping environmental health practice in Nigeria

By Sani Idris

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), has strived towards reshaping the future of environmental health practices in Nigeria.

This efforts, saw the development of Higher National Diploma (HND) curricula for environmental health specialties by EHCON in collaboration with NBTE which began in February, 2024.

The health specialties are; environmental health (8 options), public health (3 options), epidemiology and disease control (3 options) and water sanitation/hygiene (WASH) (2 options).

At the 14th series of the workshop lined up for the review, the Director Curriculum Development Department of NBTE, Dr. Hatim Koko, said the they would review two (2) options within the week under the same cluster.

The clusters are epidemiology and disease control in the climate change and health as well as health emergency.

Koko, added that their major concerns was to make the resource persons understand that the EHCON is trying to unbundling thier "problems".

He explained that the usual knowledge was of HND environmental health and ND epidemiology and disease control or ND public health, among others.

Koko therefore, said with the review, the HND options were broken into 16 options.

He thanked the team of resource persons for honouring the board's invitation, while assuring them of maximum support the cooperation towards achieving the set objectives.

Also, the Registrar of EHCON, Dr. Yakubu Baba, said the collaboration between the council and NBTE had dated back about two and half decade.

Baba, represented by his Deputy, Dr. Isah Adamu, added that the two bodies relationship has been robust over the decades in ensuring that the practice of environmental health is taken higher.

"In this case, we have joined the trend which the NBTE have set by unbundling other professions and we saw the good in it and decided not to be left behind,"he said.

Baba explained that they were unbundling the environmental health specialities because of the need to survive the 21st century challenges and to gain into the opportunity presented by the same century's.

"We cannot help but to open up the environmental health profession further so as the younger ones coming into it will find it more appealing for them to practice.

"It will also ensure a better health outcome for Nigerians if we make diseases less prevalent. People will be healthier and more income will be generated for welfare of Nigerians and even our neighboring countries at large,"Baba said.

He thanked the NBTE for their efforts towards ensuring that the process is going on seamlessly.

Earlier declaring the workshop open, the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof Idris Bugaje, said it has been challenging to bring the health sector to the fore of technical occupation education and development.

Bugaje, represented by Mr Cyril Odoemena, the board's Director of Finance and Account,
said the NBTE has held several activities with health related councils, where it saw and believe that the health sector attribute to a greater part of the country’s GDP.

The ES, therefore said the sector needed to be standardised, regulated and ensure that it gives the expected value.

He thanked the EHCON for collaborating with the board, stressing that the outcome of the curricula development would be beneficial specially to the third world nations and many part of the world in general.(NAN)