Health minister hails environmental health practitioners amid Covid-19 pandemic

HEALTH Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has emphasised the importance of environmental health practitioners as the world marks the ninth World Environmental Health Day amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mkhize delivered the keynote address at the World Environment Health Day webinar on Tuesday.

Reflecting on South Africa’s ongoing fight against Covid-19, Mkhize said environmental health practitioners played a critical role in the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

“In the early stages of the outbreak, the critical role played by environmental health practitioners in disease prevention and response had already become evident. In line with International Health Regulations 2005, environmental health practitioners at the points of entry had the unenviable task of preventing the impossible importation of Covid-19 as the first line of defense and to protect citizens from the health risk that arise as a result of international travel,” said the Minister.

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With South Africa as a transit hub for many African countries, the role of officials at the ports of entry has been central to the country’s Covid-19 response.

“The measures implemented by our port health officials at the point of entry helped to not only to delay the introduction of the disease but also an opportunity to strength its preparedness of the inevitable entry of the disease into our country,” said Mkhize.

According to the 2006 WHO report, South Africa has a high-level environmental burden of disease with 16 per cent of all deaths in the country estimated to relate to the state of the environment.

The science of environmental health is based on the premise that prevention is better than cure as the profession is concerned with the key environmental factors that are at the heart of the public health dynamics.

This was evident in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic response where the environmental health practitioners became even more critical.  

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