15th June, 2019
A non-governmental organisation, called Amaka Chiwuike Uba Foundation, has said that its upcoming Annual National Asthma Conference will produce policy recommendations to tackle respiratory diseases in Nigeria.
Dr. Chiwuike Uba, the board chairman of the foundation, stated this in a statement issued in Enugu on Friday.
Uba said that the policy recommendations would throw more light on the role of the environment and governance in the management of respiratory diseases.
Uba said: “We are faced with challenges ranging from being rated as one the most polluted countries in the world to a country grappling with a lot of problems associated with other governance issues.
“According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution is responsible for more than 12 million deaths per year in the world.”
He said that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets —SDG 3 (Good health and well-being); SDG 6 (Clean water and Sanitation); SDG 7 (Affordable clean energy); SDG 13 (Climate action); SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 16 (Peace, Security and Strong Institutions) “is dependent on the environment and governance outcomes.”
He opined that the nation’s economy would improve “if the environment provides better breathing and people live a healthy life with a guaranteed access to quality and affordable health care.”
Uba said that the theme of the conference slated for July 18 in Enugu would be “Better breathing, better living: The role of the environment and governance.”
He said that prominent stakeholders in the nation’s health sector, including former Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu; a Consultant Respiratory and Chest Physician, Prof. Benjamin Uzochukwu, and Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education, among others, would be guest speakers at the event.
The foundation was founded in 2016, in memory of Mrs Amaka Uba, who died of asthma complications in 2016.
It was conceived with the vision for a society with better breathing, better living, happier, united and prosperous people.