The City of Johannesburg Environmental Health Directorate will celebrate the World Environmental Health Day to detect the environmental health challenges that people live under on Wednesday 25 September at Thokoza Park in Soweto.
Building on the successes of the World Environmental Days in recent years the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH) has decided that the 2013 theme will be “Emerging Environmental Health Risks and Challenges for Tomorrow”.
The World Environmental Health Day is celebrated around the world on the 26th of September every year and it is vital in creating awareness about the importance of the environmental health.
As a build-up towards the World Environmental Health Day, the City’s Environmental Health Directorate has been conducting community outreach education about environmental health related legislations, visiting some of the schools, taxi ranks, churches and shopping centres to educate and distribute information.
“The event will focus on creating awareness about different environmental health regulations include inspections of food premises, funeral undertakers premises and waste management. Illegal dumping of waste is still a primary cause of rodent infestation. Illegal dumping attracts rodents and provides them with a comfortable environment to nest and continue breeding”, says Cllr Nonceba Molwele, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development in the City of Johannesburg.
The celebrations will start at 10h00 with a motorcade and open bus aiming to reach community members alongside of Old Potch Road, Bendile Street, and Elias Motswaledi Road in Soweto.
The keynote address will be delivered by Cllr Nonceba Molwele, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development.
The World Health Organisation defines Environmental Health as a discipline that comprises those aspects of human health, including quality of life that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social and psychosocial factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing, correcting, controlling, minimizing and preventing those factors in the environment that can potentially affect adversely the health of present and future generations.
The City of Johannesburg will also hold a National Department of Health’s Environmental Health Conference as part of the World Environmental Health Day on 26-27 September 2013 in Johannesburg. The two-day meeting will target environmental health professionals across the country and will be addressed by Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motswaledi.