The Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) has partnered with the Environmental and Public Health Practitioners Association of Nigeria (EPHPAN) to tackle environmental and public health challenges in the country.

Yakubu Baba, registrar of EHCON, said this on Saturday at a strategic engagement with the association’s executive officers in Abuja.

It was tagged “Strengthening Collaboration for Environmental and Public Health in Nigeria”.

Mr Baba said the partnership would enhance coordination, promote best practices, and advance the delivery of sustainable environmental and public health services.

He called the engagement ‘a landmark moment’, noting that it aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Sustainable Development goals six, seven and nine, within the “One Health” framework.

“What we are witnessing today is a strong collaboration that will strengthen the practice of environmental and public health to better serve the people.

“This is also in line with the amended Act 11 of 2002, which mandates the council to regulate the practice of environmental health in all ramifications,” Mr Baba said.

He explained that the engagement represents a tripartite arrangement involving researchers, academics responsible for capacity building, and the professional association.

Also speaking, Samuel Akingbehin, president of EPHPAN, said environmental and public health practitioners had often worked in isolation, which weakened service delivery.

“With the council’s expanded mandate, we are bringing practitioners at various levels together under one umbrella for robust interaction and professional service delivery. Where there is interaction, there is cohesion and synergy,” he said.

Mr Akingbehin assured the association’s commitment to achieving the Renewed Hope Agenda in the public health sector, urging practitioners across cadres to collaborate for effective service delivery.

“Let us join hands to save the common man on the street and put Nigeria on a favourable scale within the comity of nations,” he added.

(NAN)