The department had come to celebrate ahead of World Environmental Health Day and to share health tips with the community. “We are here to remind people about health safety and to officially kick start Environmental Health Day on 28 September.
“We want to prepare people for the day by raising awareness of the importance of health care. We have partnered with different non-governmental organisations and have come up with innovative ways to motivate and encourage the community to keep themselves and the environment clean,” said senior operational manager Hannes Steenkamp.
The department’s manager Zanzuko Mbane said, “Keeping the environment clean includes a lot of aspects hence we have with us people from Herbal Life, Virgin Active trainers, an oil recycling company representative as well as health district centre nurses. All of these elements cannot be without the other when establishing a healthy environment.” Mbane said the main message the department wanted to convey to the public was about illegal dumping.
“Illegal dumping has fast become the reason why most areas have pollution, we want to share knowledge with the public about how to prevent this.”
According to the region’s junior operational manager Tebogo Mahapa illegal dumping attracts rats and cockroaches making the area harmful to residents.
The department’s staff handed out pamphlets and invited everyone to attend a workshop on how to clean dirty water. The workshop also shared tips on how to prepare food. This was aimed at educating the owners of food stalls at the taxi rank that may cook in unhygienic conditions. “We are happy with the turnout. We hope people will remember these tips and celebrate environmental health day with us,” said Mbane.
Details: Region B Environmental Health Department 011-226-8300 or City of Johannesburg Central Health Department 011-407-6494.
