The Society of Family Physicians of Nigeria (SOFPON) has said that the healthcare sector is a major polluter of the environment, accounting for 4.4 per cent of global carbon emissions, and the key to cutting this down is functional primary health centres (PHCs) across Nigeria.
They declared that the provision of primary healthcare services that focus on early disease detection and lifestyle changes can reduce the need for resource-intensive medical treatments later on, thereby significantly minimising energy-intensive procedures that contribute to carbon emissions from hospitals.
Speaking at a press conference to mark 2024 World Family Doctor Day (WFDD) with the theme “Healthy Planet, Healthy People,” the chairman of SOFPON in Oyo State, Dr. Amos-Olufemi Okedare, said family doctors, as champions of planetary health, witness the health impacts of climate change from pollution and habitat destruction firsthand.
According to him, these environmental changes contribute to a rise in communicable and non-communicable diseases, impart mental health, and exacerbate health disparities.
He added that “family doctors witness the health impacts of climate change firsthand, from increased respiratory illnesses due to pollution to the spread of vector-borne diseases with a changing climate. Their observations are crucial for understanding and combating the health effects of environmental changes.”
Dr Okedare stated that there is an intricate connection between the health of the planet and the well-being of its people and urged a shift towards clean energy sources like solar and wind power while discouraging the use of fossil fuels and combustion engines.
He also advocated sustainable practices, such as reducing non-biodegradable waste pollution, promoting reforestation, and adopting paperless initiatives.
“We need to utilise more clean energy and make it affordable to the populace. Avoid the use of fossil fuels and combustion engines. Let us use more solar and wind energy.
“We need to avoid non-biodegradable pollution of the environment and encourage recycling of non-biodegradable waste like plastic bottles and sachets of nylon. We need to avoid land degradation through reforestation and discourage deforestation. Let us plant trees in our environment. Let us go paperless,” he said.
Also speaking, the Public Relations Officer of SOFPON in the state, Dr. Folajimi Senjobi, said Nigeria produced the 25th largest amount of carbon emissions in the world.
“In 2021, we produced about 127,000 and 29.25 KT of carbon emissions, which is a lot compared to the 75,000 produced from 1960 to 2021. The amount of carbon emissions we are releasing is on the rise. Therefore, we need to migrate from fossil energy to affordable, clean energy,” Dr. Senjobi said.
The celebration of World Family Doctor Day included activities such as tree planting, a medical outreach programme in the Ajibode community in Ibadan, and a public lecture on ‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’ delivered by Dr Temitope Ilori, the Director General of the National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA).
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