Uncleared refuse heaps in Jos metropolis, threat to health — NMA

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Plateau branch,  has expressed concern that uncleared refuse heaps on major streets in Jos-Bukuru metropolis posed a threat to public health.

The branch Chairman, Dr Bapiga’an Audu, said this to the News Men on Thursday in Jos.

Audu said the refuse served as a breeding site for vectors and rodents that transmitted diseases to humans.

” This refuse heaps serves an abode for vectors such as houseflies, mosquitoes and rodents such as rats that transmits various diseases such as gastrointestinal diseases, malaria and Lassa fever to humans,” he said.

According to him, the refuse heaps also contaminates the underground water and the various water bodies in Jos-Bukuru metropolis.

He further lamented that the state ranked tops among states with the largest number of open defecation and with the issue of uncleared refuse, would lead to having more issues of endemic diseases.

The chairman called on the government to prioritise the health of its citizens by ensuring that the wastes were cleared.

He advised that the state government could convert the waste to biofuel and recycle those that could not be converted.

Audu said the act would keep the metropolis clean and in turn create jobs for the youth and increase the state’s Internally Generated Revenue.

The General Manager, Plateau Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency (PEPSA)  Mr Gabriel Bako, in charge of waste management, attributed the waste heaps to the breakdown of the  vehicles used in waste evacuation.

He said that some of the vehicles had been fixed and waste evacuation had begun.