An inception workshop on the Development of National Action Plan on Mercury use in the Nigerian Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining sector was held on Wednesday in Abuja.
The workshop was organized by the Federal Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with the Federal Ministries of Health, Mines and Steel Development and with active support from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization as the implementing Agency.
The event was declared open by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Shehu Ahmed, who stood in for the Minister of State.
Since signing the Minamata Convention in 2013, the Federal Government has taken giant steps to ensure the proper management of Mercury in our environment.
One of such measures was the just concluded implementation of a Global Government Facility funded project titled: “Minamata Convention Initial Assessment.”
The objectives of the project include to assist Nigeria in the completion of her ratification activities under the Minamata Convention to enable Policy and Strategic decision making, to prioritize areas from future interventions on mercury related issues and to facilitate the early implementation of the convention in Nigeria.
The main focus of the workshop was to share information and receive feedback on the background, objective, setup and outline the methods of collaborative support for the implementation of the project.
With the active support from the Global Environmental Facility and UNIDO, who provided the financial and technical support and assistance to the Nigerian Government in the conceptualization and implementation of the project, the workshop brought together academician, researchers, policy makers and NGOs.
Speakers at the session included Rodika Ivan, representative of UNIDO; representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health; representative of the academia; and a representative of the miners association.
The workshop was interactive as the participants shared different views and recommendations on the way forward in mercury use in the country.