By Joyce Ekeh
The Federal Government has unveiled 14 new curricula for Environmental Health and Public Health programmes in polytechnics and monotechnics across Nigeria, aimed at producing specialised manpower to tackle sanitation, food safety, waste management, pollution, climate change and disease prevention.
The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, EHCON, Dr Yakubu Mohammed Baba, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday during the official unveiling of the curricula.
Baba said the initiative marked a shift from broad-based environmental health training to specialised, competency-driven professional education.
He said the curricula were developed through consultations and technical reviews involving EHCON, the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, academics, practitioners, professional associations and other stakeholders.
According to him, the programmes will equip students with scientific knowledge, practical skills, modern techniques, professional ethics and technological capabilities to address emerging environmental and public health challenges.
He said, “The development of these fourteen curricula represents a major transition from broad-based training to specialised, competency-driven professional education.”
Baba said the programmes would produce professionals capable of contributing to improved sanitation, food safety, waste management, pollution control, disease surveillance, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and occupational health and safety.
He said the initiative aligned with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on human capital development, skills acquisition, employment creation, disease prevention and environmental sustainability.
The EHCON boss called for increased funding and institutional support to implement the curricula, including functional laboratories, modern equipment, digital learning facilities, scholarships, research grants and practical training opportunities.
He noted that environmental health professionals play a critical role in Nigeria’s preventive healthcare system, with their services required in markets, schools, healthcare facilities, industries, food establishments, ports and other points of entry.
“Strengthening their education and professional competence will directly contribute to reducing preventable diseases, improving productivity and building healthier and more resilient communities,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Environment, Mr Balarabe Lawal, represented by the Conservator-General of the National Parks Service, Mr Ibrahim Goni, described the curricula as timely, given Nigeria’s challenges with poor sanitation, unsafe food, environmental pollution, climate change, inadequate waste management and environmentally related disease outbreaks.
Lawal urged polytechnics, monotechnics and other approved institutions to ensure effective implementation by providing qualified teaching personnel, functional laboratories, appropriate equipment and adequate field-training opportunities.
He also called for capacity building for lecturers, instructors, assessors and programme coordinators to ensure uniform implementation of the curricula nationwide.
According to him, the success of the initiative would ultimately be measured by the quality of graduates produced and their impact on sanitation, food safety, pollution control, climate resilience and disease prevention.
The minister pledged the continued support of the Federal Ministry of Environment for EHCON and urged state and local governments, development partners, professional bodies and the private sector to support implementation of the new programmes.
