A Consultant Gynaecologist, Dr. Raphael Olanrewaju, has called for the imprisonment of persons contaminating the environment by engaging in open defecation.
Olanrewaju stated this while speaking with The Eagle Online, stressing that every Nigerian adult should have respect for the environment.
He said many Nigerians “misbehave” while in Nigeria but when they travel out of the country they learn to behave properly
He was of the view that a sane individual should always look for toilets to defecate instead of doing it in the open.
The Medical Doctor further called on the government and non-governmental organisation to help not only by building more toilets but giving the citizens adequate orientation on the need for proper toilet hygiene, stressing that the health implication of open defecation is quite huge.
He explained that children under the age of five are usually affected with diarrhoea as a result of open defecation and there is the issue with flies perching on food and drinks and people ingesting their foods not knowing it has been contaminated due to this unsanitary act.
He stressed that the issue of open defecation is something everyone should be interested in and work tirelessly to curb the menace instead of leaving it for the government alone.
The Eagle Online reports that Nigeria presently ranks second in the world in the practice of open defecation after India.
According to UNICEF: “Diarrhoea is a leading killer of children, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of all deaths among children under age 5 worldwide in 2016 and this translates to over 1,300 young children dying each day, or about 480,000 children a year, despite the availability of simple effective treatment.”
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