Hygiene: Unilorin One Health Initiative takes campaign to Kwara market
By Damilola Alamu
The Unilorin One Health Initiative in Non-Governmental Organisation, #PickThatTrash today took their hygiene campaign to Oja Tuntun in Ilorin, Kwara State, last Saturday.
The groups carried out clean up exercise at the popular market, in an exercise that lasted for about two hours.
The volunteers, in their large number picked refuse and debris to a waiting truck provided by the Kwara State Ministry of Environment and Forestry while residents of the area took the advantage to dump their refuse free of charge in the truck.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the exercise, Miss Lateefat Abdulkareem of Unilorin One Health Initiative which sensitised market men and women on hygienic living and hazard of air pollution harped on the need to take cleaning of the environment seriously.
She said a number of diseases could be averted if the public, particularly sellers of food items imbibe good hygiene.
The 500 level students of the University of Ilorin, called on relevant authorities government to provide trash baskets in public areas and play a key role in curbing the menace of communicable diseases in the country.
Abdulkareem who admitted that governments alone cannot shoulder all the responsibilities of sanitising the state for a clean environment appealed to corporate organisations to partner in guaranteeing good environmental sustainability.
Also, the state Team Leader of #PickThatTrash, Miss Baliqees Salaudeen said the exercise was carried out to ensure that the market is kept clean.
Salaudeen advised market men women to ensure that they sell in a clean environment in order to encourage and to make the people patronizing the market.
According to her, cleanliness is the only way to have hygienic environment, adding that, “We came out today to mark the World Environment Day tagged ‘Beat Air Pollution’ because we believe that every trash dropped contributes to air pollution. So, our people must imbibe the culture of proper waste disposal to safeguard our environment.”
The Team Leader called on citizens to always engage in regular sanitation to have good healthy living.
Salaudeen also called on government to provide facilities for proper waste disposal for the residents to prevent degradation of the environment.