The Alfred Nzo Conference examined environmental health practices, and pushed home the message that everyone could help fight global warming.

GLOBAL warming, vector control and environmental health were the focus of the second annual Alfred Nzo Conference.

Named after Nzo, a stalwart of the anti-apartheid struggle, the conference was held on Friday, 25 April at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre in Braamfontein. It was attended by the member of the mayoral committee for health, Matshidiso Mfikoe; the executive director of health, Refik Bismilla; health directors; doctors and newly recruited environmental health practitioners (EHPs).

It coincided with the achievement awards made to committed EHPs, handed out for their contributions to transforming and advancing environmental health services in Joburg.

Member of the mayoral committee for health, Matshidiso Mfikoe said the City’s Environmental Health Professionals was greatly appreciated Photo: Enoch Lehung

Speaking at the conference, Mfikoe said that it was a high-profile event to continue honouring "one of the greatest sons of the soil". "The challenges that Nzo was faced with during his career are still a reality today."

She highlighted that the work of City EHPs was greatly appreciated.

The primary objective of the conference and awards was to promote professionalism and interaction between EHPs. "This emphasises the importance of environmental health in improving the conditions the majority of South Africans are faced with in their daily lives."

Living conditions
According to the National Health Act, environmental health played a pivotal role in championing the cause of improving the lives of ordinary people. Mfikoe noted that the City would continue to "capacitate and strengthen" the health department.

She urged people at the conference to continue working to ensure that the City was free of grime. "No challenge is insurmountable".

Professor Joseph Shikwambane, a senior lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, said environmental health was an evolving profession. "The profession has progressed from producing sanitary inspectors to professors."

Environmental health training was necessary to boost the abilities of practitioners and to ensure that students in higher education institutions were able to render a comprehensive service.

Soudah Hendricks, an EHP in Region F, said that the City needed to research the disinfection and sterilisation of equipment at hair salons. "EHPs need to ensure [that] the health of the public is protected when receiving treatment or services from hair salon operators or on hair salon premises.

"Hair salon operations are in constant flux. Crippled stability within the industry creates loss of information regarding health standards for hair salon operations," she said.

According to public health by-laws, salon tools and equipment should be kept in an hygienic and good condition at all times and salon premises should be equipped with adequate means to disinfect and sterilise instruments that come into direct contact with any customers' hair or skin.

"There is a need to produce sterility," Hendricks warned. "[EHPs should] ascertain where gaps are, in terms of the sterilisation and disinfection of hair salon equipment, and take action so as to be instrumental in preventing the spread of infectious diseases."

Vector control
There was a major rodent infestation in Joburg, and the rats were becoming a health threat, said Jan van Niekerk, the operations manager of the City's vector control unit in Region A. The influx of people into informal settlements, the accumulation of household waste because of mismanagement, and the overcrowding and unhygienic conditions in the city contributed to the rise in the rat population.

He said that residents needed to be taught the importance of rodent proofing and household waste management to stop the rodent population increasing. "Remove clutter around dwellings which may provide harbourage to rodents. Store household waste in rodent proof containers until it is collected by Pikitup [and] repair leaking taps and drain areas of surface water."

People should report rodent infestations and rat bite incidents to the environmental heath department.

Sipho Masigo, DA Councillor, takes part in the deliberations
Photo: Enoch Lehung

Global warming was also discussed at the conference, and Mageshree Naidoo, and EHP in Region A, explained that global warming was one of the most serious threats facing the world.

"For all of history, the earth's climate and the amount of greenhouse gases have changed but it always stayed within a certain range," Naidoo noted. Bu there was more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than at any other time in the past 420 000 years.

"As the climate changes, the impact will be different across the globe; wetter and drier, warmer and colder. There will be more water in the atmosphere, intensifying weather," she said.

Naidoo noted that there were ways in which people could help cut greenhouse gases and so help stop global warming. "They are simple things, but can make a difference if everyone does them."

People could:

• Recycle glass bottles, jars, newspapers and magazines, and tin cans;
• Reuse plastic shopping bags and envelopes;
• Have a compost heap in their gardens;
• Put a brick in a plastic bag into their toilet cisterns so that the toilet uses less water to flush;
• Use paper on both sides; and
• Buy products that don't use much packaging.

"Reducing energy use by 2 percent every year is an achievable goal," Naidoo said, adding that in 40 years the world could reach a goal of an 80 percent reduction in global warming pollution, "a sustainable legacy for our children".

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