The Aftermath of Ebola in Nigeria

On the 20th of October, Nigeria was given the clean bill of being "Ebola free" by the World Health organisation. This good news came after a gruelling three months for a nation since the inception of the virus that dates back to 1976 when the first incident was recorded in Zaire. It had a lot of negative impact for Nigeria which includes the record of about nineteen (19) cases and seven (7) deaths mostly of health care workers but on the other hand, it had a lot of positive impact for us as a country. It gave the government a challenge to improve on the health care services, created awareness on personal hygiene for all citizens (hand-washing, use of sanitisers, proper disinfection e.t.c.), private organisations took up the challenge to improve on their welfare for their staff and the to the general public (provision of hand sanitisers, washing facilities, temperature scanning), non- governmental organisations and civil agencies created awareness in the local community, health care workers were trained to ensure they have adequate knowledge and skills to combat outbreak. In all these, it was a victory for Nigeria as a community and lots of other nations had one thing or the other to learn from our experience. This challenge brought out the best in us and was an indicator that when everyone collectively work towards a set goal, it can be easily achieved. Let us all continue to work together to make Nigeria a better and more sustainable country to live and dwell in.

Guardian Publication : Nigeria is now Ebola free.

Climate Reality Project launched in Africa………….the most vulnerable continent to climate change impacts

24^thThe 24^th international Climate Reality Project training by Al Gore took place in Johannesburg on 12^th-14^th March, 2014. It was the first time the Climate Reality training was conducted in Africa therefore a milestone achievement. This brought over 700 passionate individuals together from over 53 countries together in the beautiful city of Sandton, South Africa. The Mayor, Honorable Mohp Parks Tau who highlighted the effects of Climate Change in Johannesburg in the last decade opened the event. He discussed the adaptation initiatives that have been undertaken by the government and also plans in the future to reduce the effects of this dilemma.

Nigeria Delegates

Mentors with Al Gore

The art of storytelling as a effective tool was emphasized by Actress and Playwright Danai Guriri because personal stories help to connect with people when trying to win the climate change conversation. Other speakers includes Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Green Peace International; Wanjira Mathai, Director of Wangari Manthai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies, Evans Wadougo, Patrick Ngowi, a social entrepreneur and CEO of Helvetic Group to mention a few.

Less than 24 hours after the training, most of the new Climate leaders were left energetic and joined a day of action for the tree planting campaign organized by the Climate Reality Partner and leader for the African branch; Food and trees for Africa led by Jeunesse Park. 

Tree planting campaign at Alexandra

The pictures give more insight into the activities that took place in South Africa to
kick-off the action for the social revolution in Africa.

More information on the Climate reality Corps can be found http://climaterealityproject.

                                      

Written by O’ Reese on behalf of En-pact Solutions Limited. 2014.

Twitter: @O Reese2

         @EnpactHSE

World Health Day 2014: Small Bite Big threat!

24^tThe World Health Organization celebrates the World Health Day globally on 7^th April annually to marl the anniversary of its origin and founding in 1948. The theme for this year is “Small Bite, Big threat:  preventing vector borne diseases" to highlight an area of priority. This year the World Health Organization committed to creating awareness for travelers by use of promotional material such as posters and boarding pass cards at London Heathrow airport ad Washington DC ‘s Dulles’ airports where travelers were advised on how to protect themselves from vectors borne diseases while away from home. At Geneva, the headquarters and other offices around the world, various campaigns took place to educate the general public on  the threat of vector diseases.

What are vectors? They are small organisms that serve as a medium for spreading diseases from person to person or place to place. They may be a threat to your health and that of your family at home and when traveling. Such vectors include mosquitoes, flies, ticks, freshwater snails, sandflies, rodents; insect vectors, lymphatic filariasis, chagas and bugs can cause serious illness, which may lead to death. These vectors transmit a wide range of parasites and pathogens that attack humans and animals. Diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, yellow fever, Ebola fever (currently endemic in Africa) to mention a few are preventable and they have a greater impact on the poorer and low income earners of the society.

About 50% of the general population is at risk of these diseases for people are more vulnerable due to travel, trade, migration, environmental changes such as climate change and industrialization, low immune system and various other factors. This year’s theme aims to promote and create awareness by focusing on the vectors that spread the disease, the disease they cause and simple precautions we can take to prevent the bite from these vectors.

                                                                                                   

   

Tips for preventing vector borne diseases

The following are tips to be considered to prevent borne diseases:

Ø  Get vaccinated against diseases such as yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis.

Ø  Educate

Ø  Clean your surroundings; ensure gutters are clean and free from all solids, get rid of all stagnant water that can be a breeding area for vectors

Ø  Ensure you wear light colored long sleeves and trousers especially between dusk to dawn

Ø  Use insect repellent as appropriate for mosquito prevention it should have at least 25% DEET content

Ø  Use insect treated nets over beds for all family members to sleep

Ø  Ensure the windows and doors of houses have net screens to prevent insects and other vectors from accessing your homes

Ø  Prior to traveling, contact your health care provider, find out about the vectors in the country and take steps to prevent vector bites

Ø  Frequent travelers should protect themselves when traveling to countries which pose health threat

Ø  Government should put measures in place to improve the protection of the population

Ø  Families living in vulnerable or vector prone areas should apply protective and preventive measures.

Ø  Practice vector control and provision of safe water.

Diseases caused by vectors are preventable therefore bite prevention is the key. 

Let us all join the global campaign with the World Health Organization to create 

awareness, provide education for those who are less informed and promote this campaign. 

The threat caused by a small bite can have devastating impact on a larger community. 

The tips above can be applied to prevent bites, spread the word.

                                         

Written by O’ Reese on behalf of En-pact Solutions Limited. 2014.

Twitter: @O Reese2

         @EnpactHSE

World Tuberculosis Day: Find Treat and Cure

 Today, March 24^th is recognised globally as a day for promoting awareness and work towards the eradication of Tuberculosis. This day collaborates the discovery of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The theme for 2014 is “Reach the three million: A TB test, treatment and cure for all”. The number represents an estimate of the number of new active TB cases annually that are left untreated by the healthcare systems. This is a global call for all to reach out to the people that do not have access to the health care which include the world’s poorest, most vulnerable communities and includes groups such as migrants, miners, drug users and sex workers. TB is curable; let us therefore continue to create awareness on the treatment of this scourge. There is an urgent need to invest in technological research and development of new tools (diagnosis, drugs and vaccines) to reach more people and prevent them from the devastating effect of TB.  This can contribute towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of totally eradicating TB within the next two decades.

Facts of TB Disease: The following are some facts of TB infection:

Ø  TB affects One third of the world’s population.

Ø  About 9 million people get sick annually from TB.

Ø  Mycobacterium tuberculosis can stay alive in the air for a few hours especially in rooms with no fresh air

Ø  Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is given at birth to newborns in high-risk countries to prevent TB and prevent active TB in childhood but not effective in adults.

Ø  It is a deadly disease with almost 2 million associated deaths each year and about 4,000 deaths daily.

Ø  In 2011, there were about 8.7 million TB cases; 1.4 million deaths around the world including about 430,000 who were HIV +

Ø  TB is the leading cause of opportunities infection death associated with HIV.

Ø  One active TB disease can infect at least 15 people.

Ø  The campaign for this year is aimed at zero TB deaths, infections, suffering and stigma.

Symptoms of TB Disease: At the latent stage of TB there are no symptoms and it cannot infect anyone but at the active state it can be infectious and have the following symptoms: unexplained weight loss, feeling sick, abnormal x-ray results, night sweats, fever, coughing lasting up to 2-3 weeks.

Treatment: TB is treated with medication for at least 6 months taken exactly as directed by the medical practitioner to prevent drug resistance. Multi-Drug Resistant TB has been identified and has been recognized as a growing concern in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Let us all join the global community to find, treat and cure all people with TB and increase the progress being made towards zero death, infections and stigmas. There are available tests to detect active and latent TB, get screened today.

Written by O’ Reese of En-pact Solutions Limited, 2014

Twitter: @O Reese2

         @EnpactHSE

The Cost of Carbon…….who pays the price?

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Carbon pollution has adverse effect on the individuals, their health and also the environment. These effects attract a cost that is either borne by the people or the environment. What is the price of carbon pollution commonly referred to as carbon price? It refers to the amount that must be paid to a public authority such as carbon tax, or as emission permit exchange such as emissions for one tonne of carbon doixide into the atmosphere or purchasing emissions allowance. This can also be based on international emissions trading agreement between countries. The purpose this is implemented to ensure the “polluters pay principles” are enforced within a system. This will enable emitters to be responsible for at least a certain percentage of the cost of pollution and ultimately climate change.

Climate change has economic and social costs, which has an implication on those that are affected directly or indirectly, it has a negative impact on the flora and fauna, families, local community, the government and the nation as a whole. The sect that is least affected is the organization or companies that engage in activities that contribute to climate change because there is little or no enforcement through taxes, fines or penalties.

It is our responsibility to enlighten these organizations, the government and the public on the devastating effects of carbon on our health and the environment. This awareness will bring about change in attitude and approach of industries activities that contribute to climate change and also investment in more sustainable and greener technologies. Therefore the major contributors to climate change will bear the cost of their action and be responsible for ensuring we have a more sustainable world to live in.

The Climate reality project has developed a tool for calculating the carbon cost in different continents but unfortunately the tool has not been activated for Nigeria therefore you cannot check the cost of carbon for Nigeria at the moment. This tool highlights the effects of carbon pollution in various aspects of life and then the risk associated with such effects are classified from a range of extreme risk to low risk. The aspects considered with this tool are higher food prices, water scarcity, reduced water quality, property damage, loss of wildlife/wetlands/agriculture soil, ecological damage, higher insurance premium, spread of diseases, river or lake water level decline, heat related illness . This is just one of the various ways of highlighting the cost of carbon. What suggestions do you have on how to combat this  growing concern? We want to hear from you…….

More information on the carbon cost can be found on http://www.thecostofcarbon.org/.

More information on the Climate reality Corps can be found http://climaterealityproject.

                                      

Written by O’ Reese on behalf of En-pact Solutions Limited. 2014.

Twitter: @O Reese2

         @EnpactHSE

United Against Cancer: Fighting today for a cure tomorrow.

                                          

The fourth day of February every year is declared for the celebration of the world cancer day and the theme for this year is “Together it is possible” we can all fight against the scourge of cancer. Let us dispel all the myths and misconceptions we have about the disease and join hands to eradicate this disease. This period the world over is dedicated to promoting awareness on cancer, emphasizing early detection and treatment. On this occasion the Empire State building in New York will be lit orange and blue, the fourth year in a row for the promotion of cancer. The good news is that a lot of people are being educated on the devastation the scourge of this disease is bringing to a number of families. There is a geometric increase in the ratio of new incidence detected in Nigeria daily. The focus is mostly on breast cancer (women) and lung cancer (men). Although these cancers can affect all population but it could be gender based as indicated.

Nigeria, some individuals, non governmental organizations, private organizations and even the federal government have set up programs events to provide education, early detection and treatment for cancers as the need may be but is that enough? Treatment of any form of cancer can be very expensive ranging from the chemotherapy, medications and surgeries. What can we do to support the cases that require treatment? There is a need to provide machinery such as mammograms and more cancer centers for mammogram used for diagnosis of breast cancer. Early detection of cancers have been identified as the key to total eradication of cancers for they can be treated in time before there is a spread of vital organs of the body. Therefore the constant need to promote and increase awareness of breast self-examination and routine screening.

One of such events sponsored by an organization on 9^th of November, 2013 was the Zumbathon dance for a cure was held in Lagos as an avenue where celebrities came together to create awareness on the need to promote early detection and support the cancer cause through a dance session. It was highly entertaining and fun and also a source of exercise for most of those that attended for the dance was intense and vigorous. The event was organized by WOW Divinely Inspired Victoriously Anointed Sisters (Divas) a celebrities that were involved include Neato C,  Mrs Udo Maryann Okonjo, Rita Dominic, Julius Agwu, Sophie Mbakwe, Dr Ebele Alaka, Betty Irabor, Weird MC, Ego Boyo, Frank Edoho to mention a few with Genevieve magazine, Seplat Petroleum, Pillar Oil, Staoil and This Day Style as some of the sponsors. Some pictures of the event are shown below.

                                                

As this year’s theme implies, together we can fight for a cure by organizing events around our communities, host festivals, run/walks, seminars, public information campaigns to raise awareness and educate people on how to fight cancer through  screening and early detection, quitting smoking, adopting healthy eating habits, increasing physical activities and persuading government and policy makers to give priority to cancer prevention.

 Written by O’ Reese on behalf of En-pact Solutions Limited, 2014

Twitter: @O Reese2

         @

Join the Conversation………………. become a Climate Leader

Climate Reality Leaders are an extraordinary group of people from around the world that are unified around the same cause, spreading the truth about climate change and inspiring action on the climate crisis. Climate Reality Leaders are trained by the Chairman and Founder of the Climate Reality Project, former Vice President Al Gore to educate others about climate change and tackle the crisis head on. They’re engaging their communities with Acts of Leadership, building networks of truth, and inspiring solutions and action in their communities.

There are now nearly 6000 trained Climate Reality Leaders in more than 100 countries educating their communities about climate change and with the hope that the movement will continue to grow.

Ordinary people face challenges. Climate Reality Leaders embrace them. The Climate Reality Leadership Corps is a global network of activists committed to taking on the climate crisis and solving the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. The program takes great leaders and makes them exceptional, providing the training in climate science, communications, and organizing to tell the story of climate change and inspire communities everywhere to take action. The result is a dynamic group of world-changers shaping the conversation on climate in forums from family dinners to international summits and building a 21st-century movement for solutions.

Two Nigerians became ‘Climate Leaders’ in summer of 2013 and were trained in the historical and beautiful city of Istanbul, Turkey by Nobel Laureate Al Gore, former US vice President and Chairman of the Climate Reality Corps, USA.

Since the training, they have been committed to promoting the climate change conversation within the Nigerian community and through social media by starting up discussions, promoting adaptation to climatic impacts and proffering sustainable solutions.

Attending a Training with the Climate Reality Leadership Corps

By joining the Climate Reality Leadership Corps at the upcoming training in Johannesburg, South Africa March 12-14, you will join a very select group of world changers who have come together to confront the greatest issue of our time, the one that will define us to future generations. You bring commitment to this cause backed by a long list of accomplishments. This training is your opportunity to take your skills to the next level and go from great to truly exceptional.

During the training, you’ll learn from Al Gore and a group of world-class scientists, strategists, communicators, and organizers about the science of climate change and how to talk to people across the continent about the ways this crisis affects them personally—and what can be done to solve it. You’ll learn how to combine science and solutions, organizing techniques proven by decades of social movements with a 21st-century approach to outreach through storytelling, public speaking, social media networking, and media engagement.

Over the course of the training, you’ll meet trained Climate Reality Leaders with experience in organizing and presenting who come from various professional backgrounds and learn from their experience. You will also meet an incredible group of exceptionally motivated individuals training alongside you including public servants, business people, academics, activists, non-profit professionals, educators, and more. We can’t promise exactly what comes next, but we can promise these three days will change your life.

Further information on the Climate Reality Project: 

http://climaterealityproject.org/

http://climaterealityproject.org/africa-training/

Written by O’ Reese on behalf of En-pact Solutions Limited. 2014.

Twitter: @O Reese2

         @EnpactHSE

Developing personal safety plans…….planning for a sustainable 2014

24^th

Incorporating personal safety health and environmental plans into our annual new year resolutions is vital to ensure we commit to a safer, more healthy and environmental friendly goals.

It is already over two weeks into the New Year and most of us have developed New year resolutions but the question is, how sustainable are those plans? Most times we develop plans that are very vague thereby they not achievable within the time frame (annual). The traditional New Year resolutions is linked to a secular culture in the Western Hemisphere and also to the Roman tradition when promises were made at the beginning of a new year for self improvement and commitment to a better or healthier lifestyle.

A study conducted in University of Bristol in 2007 involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of the New Year resolutions made, failed even though over half of the participants in the study were optimistic that the plans were achievable when setting the goals? What went wrong is typical of most plans, systems needs to be put in place for the personal plans to be achievable in line with the popular saying “if you fail to plan, you therefore plan to fail”. After developing these plans, in order to execute, put a structure in place on how to achieve it in 2014.

Do you have a personal safety plan? Are you committed to a healthier and sustainable lifestyle in 2014? If your answer to both questions is negative then this is the time to make that pledge to adopt a greener lifestyle in order to life more fulfilled and productive lives in our world filled with emerging environmental concerns and various challenges.

Tips for developing sustainable personal plans

The following are tips to be considered in order to develop an achievable annual personal plan.

Ø  Personal plans should not be treated as “traditions” to be carried out like everyone else but like the terms states, they should be personal for each individual base on your interest and passion.

Ø  Personal plans should be written down and displayed in places such as your workstation, kitchen or dressing mirror so you can see it all the time.

Ø  Health Safety and Environmental goals should be incorporated into these plans

Ø  These plans should be specific and achievable, not too bogus or general.

Ø  Your personal plans should be measurable by having systems in place on how to achieve them for example if you plan to read a book a month, you need to be committed to joining a library, joining a book club or assign funds for buying books monthly.

Ø  Have a schedule for reviewing your personal plans quarterly to check progress on achievement, determine current status and realign accordingly.

Ø  Share your personal safety plans with trusted family and friends so they can support you in achieving these goals.

Ø  Throughout the year, try to do a better job of balancing your time between your relationship with God, your family, recreation and the demands of your job. Do not sacrifice so much to our jobs throughout the year so you can manage stress levels effectively

Ø  Have someone conduct an assessment on you personal plans to determine if it is being adhered to.

Ø  Be conscious of your daily activities and for each task or activity you want to undertake, step back and consider the implication of such behaviour , its impact on others , assets and the environment.

I wish you a safe and productive New Year. Go forth and have a sustainable 2014.                                 

                                         

Written by O’ Reese on behalf of En-pact Solutions Limited. 2014.

Twitter: @O Reese2

         @EnpactHSE