The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Ibukun Odusote has stated that environmental health is the bedrock of sustainable development in any given society.
She made the observation on Tuesday March 19, 2019 in Abuja while taking briefings from the Departments and Agencies of the Ministry. Odusote averred that the environment is the most important determinant of sustainability in any given society as it has the potential to directly and indirectly impact on the well being and health of the citizenry.
According to her, humans rely on the environment for virtually everything they need for sustainability, including the clean and unpolluted air that people breathe, safe and uncontaminated drinking water, the food they eat for sustenance as well as security and housing.
Ibukun Odusote maintained that one cannot truly separate environmental issues from the economic sustainability of the society, stressing that many environmental factors can affect human health and productivity.
The Permanent Secretary lamented that inspite of the enormous importance of environmental health to the sustainability of the society, the budgetary allocation has remained inadequate to address the various environmental challenges confronting the country as a people and nation. She further noted that oftentimes the Ministry’s budget is almost equated to erosion control alone which unfortunately is just one single aspect of several factors that affect the environment.
“Our country is facing myriads of climate change issues and concerns that need serious budgetary provisions to address if we are to address the targets set by the United Nations on Climate Change”, she reiterated.
She further enjoined the Agencies and Parastatals in the environmental sector to work out modalities to enhance more media visibility and awareness creation that would favourably impact on their activities.
“It is only when Nigerians are properly sensitized about the value of your jobs that they can appreciate your efforts and that way you will be able to generate more revenue for the Government,” he told the Directors.
