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In Nigeria’s Off-Grid Communities, Solar-Powered Electricity is Improving Primary Healthcare Delivery

by Arinze Chijioke
written by Arinze Chijioke

Augustine Joseph was fully aware of the dire power supply situation in Fish Town when he arrived to establish a healthcare centre in November 2021. Fish Town, located in the coastal Bayelsa State, is an oil-producing community that had endured decades without any government or privately sourced electricity.

The donated generator from an oil company proved to be of little use, as high maintenance costs rendered it unusable. Consequently, Joseph was forced to purchase fuel for the healthcare centre’s generators at a cost of monthly cost of N70,000, which was still insufficient to operate the healthcare centre for a full day. “Some days, we put on the generator from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. and hardly during the day. Except if we have a case to attend to,” Joseph said. Apart from the power supply issue, Fish Town did not have a resident mechanic. As a result, whenever the generators malfunctioned, Joseph would spend N20,000 to bring a mechanic from elsewhere. These costs could rise to as high as N100,000  monthly when factoring in the repairs, transport, and parts.

Joseph inside his Pharmacy at Fishtown

Access to reliable energy is crucial for delivering health services and achieving universal health coverage. Electricity is required to power medical equipment, improve visibility at night and power machines that provide clean water in healthcare facilities. It is also important for childbirth at night, powering cold chain facilities that store vaccines for routine immunisation, and diagnostic equipment in laboratories. However, it is estimated that at least one billion people worldwide rely on healthcare facilities that lack constant electricity. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, at least 25,000 healthcare facilities have no access to electricity, and 68,350 have access to only unreliable electricity.

Image credit: Nigeria Health Watch

In 2023, Fish Town experienced a positive shift when the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) selected Joseph’s Hospital for the implementation of its clean energy solution across health centres in the region. The foundation, which had been selected to implement Power Africa’s Health Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance (HETA) initiative in Nigeria is working with African governments to electrify 10,000 healthcare centres in Africa through decentralised renewable and reliable energy resources for improved service delivery by 2027.  

Succour at last

Anthony Osibajo, the Coordinator for Access to Energy at PIND, outlined the initiative’s objectives, which included reducing energy operation and maintenance costs, providing a better working environment for healthcare workers, and ultimately enhancing the quality of healthcare services.

To achieve these goals, PIND works with local partners to implement clean energy solutions in 12 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across three coastal communities in the Niger Delta region: Delta, Ondo, and Bayelsa. These systems provide reliable and sustainable electricity to meet the essential, critical, and emergency needs of healthcare facilities in the locations.

Fish Town in Brass and Koluama 2 in Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Bayelsa; Deghele in Warri South-West and Ogbinbiri, Ogbudugbudu, Awamba, Obaghoro North LGAs in Delta state; and Ojumole, Odo Nla, Jirinwo, Odofado, and Odun Igor in IIaje LGA, Ondo state all benefitted from the initiative.

Image credit: Nigeria Health Watch

“These communities are off-grid, and most mini-grid developers will not want to go into the villages,” said Osibajo. “We used our proven Access to Energy model of providing reliable, affordable solar power to these last-mile communities based on our mandate that no communities should be left behind.”

PIND in collaboration with Abt Associates, the core partner for Power Africa, executed the clean energy project in the selected healthcare centres. Abt Associates, a global organisation that seeks to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of people worldwide, plays a vital role in helping health systems transition to renewable energy, leading to healthier, more resilient communities as part of the HETA project.

From frustration to transformation

Mary Oluka, a resident of Fish Town, shared her experience before the installation of solar energy at the health centre. She described it as a frustrating experience, citing the lack of constant power as a major concern. Recalling an instance when she was suffering from malaria and was admitted to the health centre, Oluka said it made an already difficult situation even more challenging.

“It was daytime when I arrived. There was no power,” she noted. “At 7 pm, the generator came on, and I was relieved, but by 11 pm, it went off, and everywhere was dark. The doctor came and said he needed to put it off to save cost. I was uncomfortable,” Oluka said.

Without a constant power supply, Oluka and other residents preferred to return to their homes and receive treatment rather than remain at the hospital. She explained that the noise from the generator was also discomforting, but that did not matter so much. 

Energy store system at Odofado healthcare centre

For Joseph, the solar energy system has been transformative, enabling him to save costs and extend the operating hours of the health centre. With the solar system in place, the centre and the pharmacy can now operate until midnight, sometimes even longer, leading to increased activity and utilisation of the available services. The previously dormant industrial fan, deep freezer, and other equipment are now in use, contributing to a smoother and more efficient hospital operation.

“We can run different tests without spending so much on powering our generators, we store different clinical samples,” Joseph said. With the current fuel price in Nigeria, he said he would have been spending over N20,000 daily to power the hospital, but with solar power, he only prays for enough sunlight to charge the batteries.

Reducing carbon emissions

PIND’s solar energy initiative is not only improving access to healthcare in the region but also reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fuel-powered generators, which contribute to global warming.

By providing clean energy sources to healthcare centres, the initiative is replacing the use of fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, the predominant electricity source in Nigeria. Nigeria has the largest natural gas reserves in Africa and ranks among the world’s top countries with proven reserves, according to data by Statista. The shift to renewable energy sources is a step towards mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change and reducing the country’s reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

Image credit: Nigeria Health Watch

 However, Joseph noted that sometimes the voltage drops and cannot fully power some hospital equipment. He adds that sometimes, the battery does not carry the system beyond midnight, hence he has put on his generator when it goes off as an alternative so he can serve patients, especially those who have emergencies. 

“The system is stress-free, with no noise and cost-effective, but I would appreciate it if it can constantly serve the healthcare centre with 24 24-hour [light],” he said. 

Nonetheless, Joseph said his patients are noticeably happier with the solar-powered healthcare centre. Not only does the availability of power improve the healthcare process, it also contributes to patients’ overall well-being.

This report is cross-published with Nigeria Health Watch through the Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative.

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Projects

Part I: In Kogi’s worst-hit communities, flood destroyed lives, livelihoods and access roads

by Arinze Chijioke
written by Arinze Chijioke

In this report, Arinze Chijioke takes a look at the devastating impacts of the 2022 flooding in Kogi State and how the state government is not showing a clear commitment to forestalling a recurrence.  This is the first of a three-part series on the 2022 flooding in Kogi, Delta and Anambra States.

Iko Sunday and his family were harvesting Rice on their farmland in Onyedega, one of the communities in Ibaji local government in Kogi State when the flood came last September. He had planted eight basins, hoping for a bountiful harvest.

“We managed to harvest only one basin before the flood took over our farmland, destroying everything, “recalled Sunday.  “Me and my family and four children- could not return home because everywhere had been submerged,”.

From their farm, they escaped to a mountain close to the community where he constructed a makeshift tent with bamboo and palm trees. There, they spent over two months, other households also ran up to the mountain. It was a safe haven.

Iko Sunday escaped to the mountains with his family

While most parts of his Onyedega remained submerged, Sunday always came in with a Canoe to borrow money and buy food which he took back to the mountain.  The flood also submerged his house and most of his property-cloths and household items were gone.  Only a few houses were spared.

A source in the community said that at least six persons died following the flooding.

Sunday’s family is only one out of hundreds of households whose livelihoods were destroyed, following the massive flooding in Ibaji, a littoral local government area in Kogi state, located along the banks of the rivers Niger and Benue, and their tributaries. Till now, several houses across the communities still lay in ruins. Schools and other public buildings were destroyed.

Communities at the mercy of floods

At the start of each harvest season, the rivers overflow their banks, flooding farmlands and houses in Ibaji.  Farmers are put in a precarious situation where they have to begin premature harvest while seeking food and emergency shelters for their families.

Bordered to the east by Enugu and Anambra states and to the South by Edo state, Ibaji- the southernmost part of Kogi is made up of over 100 communities, with more than 90 per cent of the population predominantly farmers.

Usually, the farming communities are cut off from other parts of the state because the floods destroy the major roads leading to the area. This makes the movement of people and farm products hectic and sometimes, nearly impossible, with no intervention from the government.

Road destroyed by flooding

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that at least 19,439 persons across 3504 households were affected by the floods while 13,636 were displaced across eight local governments.  Climate variability and the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in northern Cameroon are said to have worsened the flood situation, resulting in widespread displacements across the country.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) estimates that 662 people lost their lives while over 2 million people were displaced across 34 of the 36 states in the country.

When the flood reduced in November and he returned home, Sunday borrowed N100,000 and used it to plant Beans.  He said he has harvested some of it and that is what his family has been surviving on.

Before the flood, Sunday was a commercial motorcyclist. Now, he has resumed work but with the only access road to his community damaged, residents prefer to trek long distances to their farms than pay for a ride. He said he had fallen severely while trying to navigate the bad sections of the road.

Another road completely cut off by flooding

Most parts of the over 10 km road leading to Onyedega, Iyano and Echeno, three of the communities that make up Ibaji LGA have been chopped off, making it difficult for cars to ply on them.  Ibaji has muddy soil that retains water.

It is common to see motorcycle riders navigating through the bushes to find their way into the communities. Onyedega is the headquarters of Ibaji.

“Even the price of transport has gone up because of the bad road and the people are finding it difficult to pay, “he said.  “It used to be N1500 to Idah, the closest LG to Ibaji, now, it is N2500,”.

A resilient people, trading by barter to survive

As the flood persisted, most residents of Onyedega switched over to fishing with their Canoes which they often took to Elushi, a local market in Edo State for trade by barter as a means of survival. They were exchanging Fish for Rice, Beans and other food items.

Motorcyclists trying to navigate through the bushes

While some residents escaped to communities in Idah, another local government, others stayed back and made rafters of three fits at the beginning of the flood which they increased as the flood rose.

“On top of the rafter, they prepared a place where they poured sand, put mud so that as it increased, they had a place to prepare their meals and put their bed,” Traditional Ruler of Ibaji, John Egwemi recalled.

He said that some people borrowed money on interest to be able to return the farm. Some collected 1 bag of Rice and promised to pay back with three at the end of the planting season.

Four hectares of farmland destroyed

As soon as Benjamin Offor heard his fence fall around 2 a.m. in September 2022, he and his family- his wife and seven children- started packing their property into a Catholic church where they stayed till November.

Standing in front of his new farm, Offor told this reporter that he could not harvest a single tuber of Yam out of the 800 he planted and five measures of groundnut. His Cassava farm planted across four hectares of land- was destroyed too. As a result, it became difficult for his family to feed.

Benjamin Offor lost four hectares of farmland to the flooding

“Oftentimes, my wife borrowed to buy Cassava Flakes (Garri) and Fish which she sold in our local market, whatever profit she made was what we used to eat, “he said. Sometimes, we went days without food,”.

To be able to plant this year, Offor borrowed money from people he will pay back with interest after he has harvested his crops. He regrets that during the flooding period, the government did not help the community.

“I hope that the flood will not come again so that I can harvest and pay back my loan and cater for his family,”. I am also monitoring to see when my Rice farm and yam tubers and other crops will be ready because we are harvesting earlier than normal in case the floods come again,”.

Govt lacks commitment to deal with flooding

The Kogi State government has severally said it is committed to dealing with the flooding challenge in the state. However, a review of its budget performance over the years shows a lack of seriousness on the part of the government.

For instance, the budget performance report for Q1 2023 showed that out of N101m budgeted for erosion and flood control, N36.9m budgeted for post-flood housing estates and social amenities and N53.8m for procurement of emergency tender for flood-related disasters, no money has been released, according to a Dataphyte report.

Farmers try to push their Tricycle through the road

In 2021, N105.480 was budgeted for the same purpose but only N26.908 million was spent, according to the state’s budget performance report. In 2022, the state government budgeted N106.3 million for flood and erosion control But only N4 million was spent.

What is most worrying is that the state has also failed to utilise its share of the ecological fund. Between 2021 and 2022, the state received a total of N1.3 billion from the fund- N634.67 million and N667.38 million respectively. However, it only spent N30 million on flood and erosion control. In 2023, another 134.1 million was given to the state.

Dredging of River Niger, way out

Egwemi said that over the years, the government’s flood intervention often comes too little too late and only after NGOs have stepped in to provide succour for the people. He said that the people of Ibaji are the real victims of the flood in Kogi state.

“But what you mostly see in the media are reports from Lokoja, we have been largely neglected by the government, “he regretted.  “The first point of call should be to provide boats that will convey the people to highlands after which they settle them in camps and supply relief materials for them,” but you don’t find the government doing this, instead, they bring flat matrasses and food items that are hardly enough for the people,”.

House completely raised by flooding

He explained that Ibaji has never had to wait for the government’s intervention during flooding because they do not care about the welfare of the people and always associate their delays with bureaucratic bottlenecks.

According to him, while the government often claims that it is providing aid to those affected with huge funding from donor agencies, the money hardly gets to these victims.

“Not even one boat was sent by the state government to rescue residents, “he claimed. “Many lives would have been lost during the 2022 flooding had the church not intervened and accommodated everyone, regardless of religion,”.

The traditional ruler also said that he had severally written to the Federal government to properly dredge the River Niger and make it deeper and more difficult for water to overflow and get into communities.

Community members try to construct roads with woods

“It is beyond just throwing sands by the banks of the river because when it rains, it will wash them into the river again, “he said. “After Cameroon built their years ago, they told our government to build one so that when they release water, it will flow into our own dam and gradually released downstream,”.

The traditional ruler said that failing to construct a dam to take in water from Cameroon shows that the government is insensitive to the plight of the people, adding that when constructed, the water from the dam can be released gradually during the dry season for irrigation farming and when the rivers begin to dry for people to travel.

Egwemi has also proposed to the government to build houses on the few highlands in Ibaji so that people don’t have to relocate to Idah or Edo State due to flooding.

Flood risk expert, Taiwo Ogunwumi said that a lot also remains to be done in the aspect of capacity building on the flood preparedness process and quick response for state emergency management staff.

“We must also transition to the use of renewable energy and drastically minimise the emission of fossil which also contribute to the changing climate especially increasing rainfall, “he said.

John Egwemi says dredging of River Niger remains only solution

In Onyedega, some farmers are yet to recover from the losses of last year’s flooding. But the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have already warned that the floods might be more devastating this year. Residents in flood-prone areas in Kogi state have also been asked to relocate as the Lagdo dam is gradually being released.

“Many of them are harvesting their crops early enough to avoid losing them to flooding, said Fr. Leo Idama who resumed In September, exactly when the floods came. He had to escape to the Minor Seminary in Idah where he stayed through November because the floods entered his parish house.

“I had packed my property inside the church which was spared and used the speed boat to escape, “he recalled. Since then, I have not driven my car out of the community because the roads are bad,”.

 

 

 

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PART I: How UNICEF’s Dietary Diversity Project Is Tackling Child Malnutrition In Kano

by admineconai
written by admineconai

In the first of a three-part series, Arinze Chijioke, Elijah Akoji, and Simon Ekemini examine the success of UNICEF’s Dietary Diversity Project in Kano State, Nigeria. The project, which aims to improve the nutritional status of children under five by increasing the diversity of their diets, has shown promising results.

In 2018, Hadiza Garba, a resident of Bichi local government in Kano State, discovered that her son, Haruna, was not growing or putting on weight at the expected rate. He was unusually irritable and always had slow energy levels and tired more easily than other children.

Haruna was eventually diagnosed with malnutrition at Rasheed Shekoni General Hospital in Dutse, Jigawa State. Malnutrition refers to deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients, or impaired nutrient utilization.

The doctors determined that Haruna had been fed a diet that was too low in protein. Between six and eight months of age, he should have started eating a variety of foods, including milk, meat, egg, other proteins, fruits, and vegetables. However, he was already being fed tuwo, a category of solid meals made from rice, corn, or millet flour with a range of soups, often without any protein.

Some goats belonging to Habiba Abdulrahaman

Hadiza Garba was unaware of the importance of a balanced diet for her son’s health. Her story is not unique. Far too many children are not fed at the right time or with the right frequency and dietary diversity needed to grow and develop to their full potential.

The burden of food poverty

In low- and middle-income countries, two-thirds of children under five, or 478 million, experience food poverty. This means that they are not fed the bare minimum number of food groups they need in early childhood.

In Nigeria, one in three children is stunted and one in ten is wasted. This means that they are not growing and developing as they should. Close to 19.8 million Nigerian children are undernourished, giving Nigeria the highest burden of stunting in Africa and the second highest in the world.

A 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey report found that Kano State had the highest number of malnourished children in Nigeria. This was attributed to poor infant feeding practices, such as low dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency. The report also found that children in Bichi and Sumail local government areas were the most affected.

Garba could not afford the Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) or treatment for her son, Haruna. She brought him home and resorted to self-help. The MAD is a binary indicator of infant and young child feeding practice that assesses the quality and sufficiency of a child’s diet between the ages of 6 and 23 months, apart from breast milk.

“The lack of money always caused quarrels between me and my husband at home,” she said. “Sometimes, we even went without food in the house. I did not have any job.”

Solution at last

Garba was helpless and had to borrow sometimes to buy eggs and other diets for her son till 2019 when UNICEF implemented the Dietary Diversity Project to address malnutrition in children aged 6-23 months in Kano State.

While it was inaugurated on October 23rd 2018 by the former governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje, the Dietary Diversity project started in September 2019 and was implemented through a partnership with the government, traditional institutions, and local NGOs (Kano Emirate Council Committee on Health and Human Development (KECCoHHD) and Society for Women Development and Empowerment of Nigeria (SWODEN)).

Habiba Abdulrahaman

Elhadji Diop, Nutrition Manager, UNICEF Field Office Kano, said that the objective of the project was to improve Infant and Young Child Nutrition which is a primary factor in under-5 malnutrition through the promotion of dietary diversity among children aged 6 to 23 months in the targeted LGAs of Kano state from 28% to 50% by 2020 which would contribute in the long-term to the reduction of malnutrition.

Under the project, 1,080 caregivers of children aged 6-23 months of age received three chickens each for poultry farming to improve access to animal-source foods. In total, 3,240 chickens were distributed to 1,080 caregivers.

Additionally, three goats were also distributed to each of the 72 community support groups women chosen by the communities and created in the two LGAs. Each group had 12-15 caregivers. A total of 216 goats were therefore distributed.

As she received her share, Garba constructed a Goat Pen and a Poultry where she kept them for reproduction. As her hens laid eggs, she boiled some and gave Haruna and her other children. She also sold some of the eggs and took care of other family needs.

“As the goats reproduced, it increased the milk available which I used to also feed my children and also help other women whose children grew without enough breast milk,” she said. “I also sell them in the market and earn more money,”.

Caregivers also received seeds to grow vegetables such as spinach, and tomatoes and agricultural extension workers visited weekly to teach them how to take care of their livestock and vegetable farms.

“A total of 4,320 vegetables and fruits seedlings were also distributed to the 1,080 caregivers of children aged 6-23 months across the two LGAs at 4 seedlings per caregiver,” Diop explained.

Overall, the intervention has helped to ensure that Garba’s children had a more varied and nutritious diet. Now, she is on good terms with my husband because we eat well and there is money for other household needs.

Extending the goodwill

As soon as Habiba Abdulrahaman, a resident of Kofar Kudu received her male and female goats and chicks to enable them to reproduce, she gave them to her daughter who had given birth to a set of twins at the time and that helped her in providing the necessary diets for them after she (the daughter) stopped giving them breast milk.

Hadiza Garba in her goat Pen

“I also made sure that she fed them with meals that had Vegetables as they grew older and that has helped them maintain the acceptable Diet,” she said. “I am happy to have benefitted from the project,”.

Like Garba, Unmi Musa’s daughter was diagnosed with Malnutrition when she was two. After it was managed at the Sumaila General Hospital, with support from friends who bought food for her daughter, Unmi returned home, worried about how she will get the necessary diet her unborn children will need to survive.

Thankfully, she was selected and benefited from the dietary project. Her goats and chickens have reproduced and she ensures that she feeds her children with at least 5 eggs whenever the chicks lay ten and diversifies their meals after six months.

“I also eat the egg and we have not had any case of malnutrition again,” Musa, who is also a resident of Kofar Kudu said.  “I sell the goat and earn more money for the family,”.

Project setbacks

Among the challenges that were experienced during the project were access to water-especially during the dry season- which is the main challenge in sustaining home gardening. To mitigate that, Diop said that community gardens were planted close to water sources.

To deal with the challenge of disease outbreaks in chickens and goats, the project linked the communities with veterinary services to sustain animal husbandry practices.

Unmi Musa, one of the beneficiaries

“Leveraging on the influential role of the institutionalized Emirate Council has been key to mobilizing communities and fostering buy-in on home gardening and animal husbandry practices,” said Diop.

Overall, Diop said that there is an improved consumption of animal-source foods amongst children aged 6-23 months state and communities have started buy-in to sustain homestead food production.

“The project’s midline assessment, conducted in 2022, indicated improved availability of diverse food within households, including animal source foods, “he said. “Evidence-informed advocacy has led to buy-in at the state level as cost estimates from this project have been used to inform the development of Costed State Government 5-year Multi-sectoral Plan of Action on Food and Nutrition,”.

This story was produced with the support of Nigeria Health Watch through the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Special Report: Nigerian women defy the odds to transform palm kernel Sludge into other products for a living

by Arinze Chijioke
written by Arinze Chijioke

In Nigeria, many women suffer ailments resulting from the use of firewood and data from the World Health Organization estimates that over 98,000 of these women die annually as a result.  Some of these women-especially those who are into palm kernel processing-are aware of the implications. But with no support to adopt more energy-efficient methods, they risk their health to earn a living. Arinze Chijioke reports. 

Inside an open space roofed with corrugated zinc sheets in the Garki area of Enugu State, Southeast Nigeria, smoke constantly goes up and disappears into the horizon. Metal drum containers are holding water and Palm kernel Sludge, the residue obtained from oil palm mills after the extraction of oil from palm nuts.

Nwani Catherine stands with her hands firmly holding a long, wooden stick which she uses to stir the metal drum containers, one at a time. At intervals, she uses her drenched shirt to wipe the beads of sweat on her face.

Catherine pours water into one of her drums

The heat from the three-stoned open cooking fire is unbearable and leaves her wheezing badly from firewood smoke, tears welling up in her eyes. But she has to stir for hours to get oil from the Sludge which companies come to buy and further process into detergent, soap, perfume, cream and other products.

This has been her routine since 2017, two years after her husband died and left her with the burden of catering for their four children.

Before she was introduced to the business by a friend, Catherine sold foodstuffs inside Ogbete, one of Enugu’s main markets. But it was not profitable. Sometimes, she made a profit of N200 after each day’s sale.

“I felt I needed another business to be able to take care of my children, “she said.  It is what money I earn from here that I pay their fees and our rent”.

Initially, when she started the business, she was buying the Palm Kernel sludge directly from artisanal and small-scale oil palm mills and processing it further to get other products. But with time, she could not afford to buy directly. Now, she works for a group of women who own the business.

Every day, at 6:30 am, Catherine leaves her house to ensure that she gets to the location before 7 am. Sometimes, she treks. Most of the time, she boards a bus. At the location, she separates the Sludge which often comes in different bags into 12 drums after which she sets fire to them and begins to stir.

“The Sludge is usually hard when poured into the drums, “she said. “I have to go round and stir each drum for hours to get the liquid content and also ensure that it does not burn”.

At intervals, she ambles to the stream close to the location where she gets water used in the processing.  After processing, the oil stays at the top of the drum while palm kernel cake- another by-product stays at the bottom.

The next morning, she begins her day by scraping the drums for the Cake which can be used as feed for swine and also serves as manure routinely used by smallholder farmers. It is also used to replace up to 66 per cent of chemical fertilizers in palm plantations.

She and other women who are in the processing business arrange the cakes into different bags and help load them into vehicles, earning N50 per bag. For each drum processed, the women earn N250. That is N3000 for 12 drums and N1500 for six.

Palm kernel cake used as feed for for swine and fertilizer for crop production

Whenever there is a scarcity of Palm kernels, the women go for two weeks and sometimes more without working and that affects their income. They leave the location between 5-6 pm daily.

Catherine often feels weakness in her bones and pain in her chest whenever she returns home after each day’s work. The smoke from the fire disturbs her eyes. But she rarely takes medication.

“I don’t want to get used to it and always spend my money on drugs, “she said.  “I have allowed my body to get used to the process. For my eyes, I buy Yeast and eat enough vegetables. I also drink soda water whenever it blocks my breathing”.

Africa is hardest hit

The use of open fires and solid fuels for cooking remains one of the world’s most pressing health and environmental problems, directly impacting nearly half of the world’s population- more than 3 billion- and causing nearly four million premature deaths each year, according to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.

In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, some 950 million people- about 81 per cent of the population- are said to rely on wood and charcoal for cooking, a number which is estimated to grow to 1.67 billion by 2050.

Research also indicates that the highest death rates from cooking fuel pollution occur in poorer African countries, with smoke inhalation from indoor and outdoor cooking causing between 1.6 million and 3 million deaths of children in the continent yearly.

Among the health issues arising from smoke inhalation In developing countries, including Nigeria include respiratory infections, eye damage, heart and lung disease and lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases and bronchitis which are significant causes of death in both children under five and women.

Of the 4 million global deaths recorded annually, 27% are due to pneumonia, 18% from stroke, 27% from ischaemic heart disease, 20% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 8% are from lung cancer, according to data from WHO data.

Kelo Uchendu, Policy Lead of YOUNGO, the UN Framework Convention on climate change, (UNFCCC) Children and youth constituency, said that apart from being one of the drivers of death, especially in Africa, open fire cooking remains one of the major causes of unsustainable tree harvest and is responsible for about 20% of black carbon emission.

The training process

Before Duru started the business in 2020, she was trained for two months on how to pour the chaff into the drums and what quantity to ensure that it does not waste as you turn. She was also trained on how to add fire to the product and what quantity of water to add and how to stir.

“If you pour too much water, for instance, it becomes hard for you to stir, “she said. “Some people learn everything about the business in one month while some catch up in three months,”.

When she resumed, she worked for one week and stopped because she could not bear the hit from the drums and the stress that comes with the processing. But she came back again, determined this time to work and earn money for herself and her family.

Duru stirs her drums of palm kernel chaff

The mother of five had worked as a caregiver in a private nursery school in Enugu where she was earning a meagre N5000 as salary every month.  But It was hard enough to meet her needs.

“Sometimes, I was not paid my salary in full and sometimes, they often withheld it, “she recalled.  “And it always resulted in quarrels. “I could not save up or invest in anything”.

But in her current job, she gets paid daily and earns more than three times her salary at her former school.  Depending on her strength, Duru earns between N1500 and N3000 daily. She also gets N500 as money for feeding daily.

“With the money I make, I am able to support my husband who is a commercial bus driver in taking care of the family, “she said.

Since she started the job, Duru has not fallen sick because she has become used to the business. She takes Sodar water because of the smoke she inhales Sometimes, I spend almost the entire day here.

Duru comes out here as early as 7 am to be able to meet up with her daily target. On arrival, she begins by scrapping the drums for Palm Kernel cake which she arranges in small bags.

Where the women fetch water used for production

Usually, when she returns home, exhausted, she lays down on a cement floor to be able to regain her strength. She said that several women had also stopped working after some time because they could not cope with the stress that comes with it.

Like Duru, Ngozi Godwin got into the processing business in 2020. Before then, she was into petty foodstuff trading inside Ogbete, Enugu’s Main Market. But the money she makes was hardly enough for her to pay bills back home.

A mother of five, she also worked as a cleaner as a government officer. But her monthly salary of N20,000 was often delayed. She always transported herself to the office, spending the little she had.  Sometimes, before she gets paid, she spends everything on household needs.

“It was hard for me to save, “she said. “All of that frustrated me and I had to find an alternative, especially as someone who had children,”. My sister who had been in the business for more than 20 years now introduced me to it.

Godwin pours water into the drum

She explained that although the processing business is stressful, it is more profitable and she can support her husband who is a commercial bus driver in taking care of the family. It also allows her more time to do other things for herself.

“I am often exhausted whenever I return home, but I must come the next day to work because I have to make money,” Now, I can save from the N3000 I earn daily”.

No efforts to invest in sustainable approaches

At the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26), African countries, including Nigeria renewed their commitment to transitioning from polluting cooking fuels. They were also determined in their call for an affordable energy transition.

However, Uchendu said that the Nigerian government often looks at the bigger picture without realistic timelines when talking about energy transition, and climate policies on strategies.

“The government is failing to understand the different small scale grass root innovations and how local women-especially those into Palm Kernel processing- can be supported with more sustainable approaches to business, thereby increasing their income, “he said. “Their activities are hardly recognised”.

He noted that these women often resort to fuelwood at the expense of their health and the environment because they lack the funds to adopt more energy-efficient methods in their processing activities.

“Energy transition has to be a coordinated effort, from the bottom to the top and this means supporting women with cleaner and healthier alternatives which will cut down the time and resources used, that is lesser input and more output, “he said.  Private entities can also come in to invest in these women and boost productivity,”.

Catherine and other women remain hopeful that more energy-efficient methods will be introduced to make their work a lot easier and less harmful to their health.

 

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SPECIAL REPORT: Enugu govt watches as waste takes over state, threatens public health, environment

by Arinze Chijioke
written by Arinze Chijioke

In this report, Arinze Chijioke looks at how delays in the evacuation of waste in Enugu State encourage indiscriminate waste disposal, its health implications, and how the practice impacts the environment.

As Benjamin Eze walked towards a waste dumping site in the Asata Area in Enugu State, South-eastern Nigeria one afternoon in early January 2022, he discovered that the five waste dumpsters were filled and overflowing and that residents were beginning to drop their waste on the ground.

Quickly, he threw the two nylon bags he had used to pack his waste close to the dumpsters and left, covering his mouth and his nose. The stench emanating from the dumpsite was unbearable.

“I had intended to use the bin but when I got here and discovered that they were all filled up, I decided to drop it like every other person, “he said. “I could not have taken it back home”.

It had been four days since the dumpsters were filled up with heaps of littering wastes around. But the workers who would always come with trucks to clear them had not come. The situation makes work difficult for Okafor Chiemelie who offers graphics design services close to the dumpsite. He says it’s difficult to work inside his office whenever the wastes are left unpacked.

“Whenever it rains, it is hard to pass through the area, “he said. “Most of the time, rain pushes the wastes into water channels, making it hard for water to freely flow to its destination”.

Overflowing dumpsters at Ebelane

Heaps of waste at Enugu’s main market

Like Chiemelie, residents living close to the dumpsite and business owners, particularly food sellers who shared their experience with this reporter said they have had to endure days and weeks of unbearable stench. They say it affects their business because those coming to eat would always complain about the smell and find alternatives.

But the situation is not peculiar to the Asata area of the state. Today, It is common to walk around Enugu State and find wastes generated from households, eateries and offices strewn everywhere, on both sides of some roads, some of them making their way into water channels.

From streets to motor parks and from markets to schools and hospitals, the indiscriminate dumping of refuse- occasioned by delays in evacuation has increased to a devastating and uncontrollable rate, contaminating the environment and exposing residents to serious diseases.

Heaps of waste at Obeagu

An overflowing dumpster at Okpara Avenue

Health and environmental concerns

Improper disposal of waste particularly plastic waste, typified by overflowing dumpsters, and mountains of open refuse dumps, remains a major environmental and public health concern prevalent in most developing countries.

Apart from causing damage to the eco-systems and accelerating the destruction of the environment, the situation exposes humans to widespread diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid fever.

Waste inside the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Waste inside Parklane, Enugu

Gboyega Olorunfemi, Principal Consultant, EnviromaxGlobal Resources Limited, Ibadan, said that improper waste disposal also causes malnutrition and stunting in children as well as respiratory illness, risk and exposure to contaminated water and food.

“Waste dumped indiscriminately clogs the drainage channels and leads to flooding during the wet season and could also lead to fire outbreak,” he said.

Apart from institutional weaknesses on the part of the government, as is the case in Enugu, uncontrolled population growth and lack of awareness increase the rate of Improper waste disposal.

Marine species under threat

About 300 million metric tons of plastic waste are produced each year globally. But out of the more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic estimated to have been produced since the early 1950s, about 60% has ended up in landfills, dumps or the natural environment. Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled.  About 12% has been incinerated, according to a report by Science Daily.

Much of the world’s plastic- an estimated 8 million metric tons every year- has ended up in the world’s ocean. Of major concern is the fact that these plastic items do not fully disappear.

Although they have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, they often contain additives that make them stronger, more flexible and durable, persisting in the environment for at least 400 years, a national geographic report shows.

As they get smaller and smaller, they are swallowed by farm animals or fishes in the river who mistake them for food.  Millions of these animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms.

The report shows that nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastics. It is feared that If the current trend of waste mismanagement continues, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

A more worrying concern

Apart from delays in waste evacuation in Enugu State, there is a more worrying concern about the open burning of wastes. It is common to walk across streets and find dumpsters burning, posing serious risks to the environment and public health of residents. Those being burnt close to buildings are beginning to affect them and there are fears that some of them might begin to fall.

According to Olorunfemi, the open burning of wastes releases substances into the air that are toxic, many that are carcinogenic and are also called short-lived Climate pollutants e.g.: black carbon, dioxins, Mercury, Furans and PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls).

He said that these substances lead to cancer, asthma, heart diseases, skin and eye diseases, causing damage to nervous and reproductive systems, although it is difficult to determine the true level of impact of open burning of waste on public health because not much data is available in Africa.

“The black carbon contributes to climate change by warming the earth through direct and indirect interactions with clouds and rainfall patterns “he added.

Overflowing dumpsters at Asata

One of the rickety trucks used to evacuate waste

When contacted, the former Commissioner for Environment in the state, Chijioke Edeoga said that the government was aware of what was happening, describing it as an act of mischief.

“It is usually done at night and we are not happy about it,” he said. “But we cannot police all dustbins in the state and even when people see the bins burning, they don’t care to put it out”.

Edeoga who resigned following his interest in contesting for the governorship position said that the government had tried severally to end the burning, yet it continues. But while the former commissioner claims the government is not aware of those setting the wastebins on fire, many residents claim they have seen those in charge of evacuating the wastes burning them.

Where the Enugu problem lies

The reason for the recent wave of delays in waste evacuation is said to be linked to the decision by the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to create a committee on waste evacuation out of an already existing waste management body, Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA) according to a source who would not want his name mentioned.

While the government stopped ESWAMA from carrying out its primary responsibility of evacuating wastes, it handed it over to the committee which went ahead to hire trucks-which break down regularly- and workers who take weeks to clear wastes.

He explained that while ESWAMA- which is under the ministry of environment collects levies from households, it asks the committee- which is now directly under the governor’s office- to evacuate wastes, which they often fail to do.

One of the rickety trucks used to evacuate waste does not have a fuel tank

“After the levies are collected from households and given to the government, the government, in turn, hands the money to the committee and they are still not working,” the source said. “And there is no form of collaboration between ESWAMA and the new committee”.

He told Econai+ that the State House of Assembly had invited the two bodies after it received several complaints of delays in waste evacuation. But the chairman of the committee refused to say what the problem was and insisted that he was only answerable to the governor.

A former senior staff of ESWAMA, who prefers not to be mentioned confirmed that the delay in waste evacuation began after the state government decided to strip the agency of its responsibility for waste disposal and handed it over to a committee.

“I cannot exactly say why the governor asked us to stop doing our work,” the former staff said. “ He is aware of what is happening to waste management in the state and what ESWAMA does not is to basically supervise and generate revenue for the state”.

Now, households who are paying levies at the GRA, New Haven and Independence Layout areas of the state are complaining that even after paying N10,000 to 15,000, there is a delay in waste evacuation.

Impact on climate change

Several reports have shown that unmanaged dumpsites are major sources of Green House Gas emissions (GHGs) and emission of water/atmospheric pollutants as well as odours in developing countries.

About 80% of solid waste in African countries, for instance, is dumped indiscriminately in open spaces, streets, stormwater drains, rivers, and streams thereby, contributing to an estimated 29% of the global GHG emissions which is expected to increase to 64% by 2030.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had warned that if actions are not taken to prevent the continual increase of GHG emissions, the Earth’s temperature will increase by 6.4 °C in the 21st century. Without improvements in the sector, solid waste-related emissions will most likely increase to 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050, according to a world bank report.

What happened to Enugu’s waste compactors?

When the administration of former governor Sullivan Chime came on board in 2007, it introduced a modern scientific approach to refuse collection, disposal and solid waste management by procuring more than 15 waste disposal compactors and over one hundred dumpsters which were deployed in all parts of the state capital and Nsukka Urban.

In collaboration with other departments and agencies, the Environment Ministry, which had the responsibility, introduced programmes and projects for the promotion of regular environmental sanitation and pollution control in Enugu state.

The Ministry had been established in Enugu State in 2004 to improve the beauty and aesthetics of the physical environment and adequate protection of the ecosystem and effectively manage solid wastes in the state.

A building affected by open burning of waste

The Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA) an establishment under the ministry also introduced monthly sanitation exercises and street by a street collection of refuse on daily basis.

In 2011, the administration took a delivery of 285 refuse bin holding pads, built 283 conventional refuse bin slabs and fire motorized bin slabs on major urban roads in the state capital and Nsukka.

The governor also approved the purchase of earthmoving equipment for ESWAMA, including three tippers, two bulldozers and pail loaders each, reportedly worth three hundred and twenty-two million naira (N322 million).

According to Chuks Ugwoke, who was the State Commissioner for Information at the time, the decision to purchase the equipment was in keeping with the resolve of the Chime administration to ensure and maintain a very clean and healthy environment in the state.

Sadly, seven years after the Chime administration left power, the current administration has failed to effectively manage waste in the state, depending on rickety trucks which take days to clear waste.  The administration has also failed to maintain the waste disposal compactors which had been provided for waste management.

Burnt dumpsters at Independence Layout

Beyond Enugu, there is no commitment to tackle plastic waste in Nigeria

A 2018 report by the World Economic Forum estimates that Nigeria for instance, generates some 32 million tonnes of waste per year, out of which a staggering 2.5 million tonnes are plastic. While the country’s annual plastics production is projected to grow to 523,000 tonnes by 2022, it is estimated that the country discharges 200,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste into the Atlantic Ocean each year.

But In 2018, the minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, said the federal government was working on a national policy on plastic waste management to regulate the use and disposal of plastic waste in the country.

At an event to mark the 2018 World Environment Day, Jibril said the ministry had collaborated with stakeholders and developed a national strategy for the phase-out of non-bio gradable plastics as well as developed a national plastic waste recycling programme, to establish plastic waste recycling plants across the country.

The facilities were expected to complement the efforts of various state governments at facilitating a clean environment and preventing environmental pollution from solid waste disposal in Nigeria.  Jibril announced that a total of eight plants had already been completed and handed over to the states while 18 others were at various stages of completion.

However, investigations have shown how some of these plants reported having been completed in Osun, Ekiti, Lagos and Kaduna or ongoing were wasting away despite the government’s huge investment in the project.

With inefficient disposal, recycling, and waste management system, an overall 70% of plastic and non-plastic waste produced in Nigeria end up in landfills, sewers, beaches and water bodies.

Nigeria’s plastic bag prohibition bill

The House of Representatives in 2019, passed a bill banning plastic bags in the country. It was intended to address the harmful effects of those plastic bags on the oceans, rivers, lakes, forests, environment, wildlife as well as human beings and to relieve pressure on landfills and waste management.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had also approved the Solid Waste Management Policy for Nigeria to provide a framework for a comprehensive integrated solid waste management which the federal, state and local governments, MDAs, institutions and NGOs will be part of.

The bill provided for: “An act to prohibit the use, manufacture and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging in order to address harmful impacts to oceans, rivers, lakes, forests, environment as well as human beings and also to relieve pressure on landfills and waste management and for other related matters.”

Littering waste at New Haven

It described as an offence the failure to provide customers with paper bags, manufacturing plastic bags for the purpose of selling, and importing plastic bags “whether as a carryout bag or for sale”.

Any person found guilty of the offences shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding N500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both such fine and imprisonment, according to the bill which also prescribes a fine of N5 million to companies guilty of the offences.

But two years down the line, the Nigerian Senate is yet to consider and transmit the bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent. If drastic measures are not taken, It is estimated that Nigeria would be the nation producing the largest amount of mismanaged plastic waste in Africa by 2025.

Another waste dumpsite in Enugu

Need for Investment in the waste recycling value chain

A 2018 World Bank report projects that rapid urbanization, population growth and economic development will push global waste to increase by 70% over the next 30 years to a staggering 3.40 billion tonnes of waste generated annually.

The same report showed that successful interventions are needed to improve waste management which will help cities become more resilient to the extreme climate occurrences that cause flooding, damage infrastructure and displace communities and their livelihoods.

Responding to this, Olorunfemi said that state governments must realize that waste recycling is one of the numerous value chains in waste management and it is one of the ways materials can be recovered, reused and repurposed.

“Waste recycling enterprises will bring about improvement in air and reduction in carbon emission”, he said. “When you recycle, there is a reduction in the volumes of waste that gets burnt or goes to the dumpsite, reduced stress on the exploitation of natural resources. It creates the prospect for wildlife and ecosystem protection and it provides an opportunity for generating employment”.

He said that the Federal government must review existing policies to accommodate global best practices with the integration of native intelligence and innovation, and provide tax incentives to entrepreneurs who are willing to commence or augment their enterprise in the sector to scale.

“This may not create a waste-free environment immediately, but it will build a foundation to which its success will depend, he said, adding that consistent and sustained advocacy and engagement with the government will make them realize the need to fund the sector that is currently suffering for lack of creativity and capacity on the part of the regulators.  

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