Necessary Things to Make You Healthy
HEALTH IS WEALTH: Healthy citizens and the environment make a healthy nation.
The unclean climate could lead to infectious diseases resulting in health burden.
Does the health burden thus increase avoidable spending?
We remember the outbreak of certain infectious diseases such as cholera,
Lassa fever and Ebola etc. and how much was expended by each family!
Sanitation is a process of making the environment clean and healthy.
It is the proper management of solid waste (refuse) and liquid waste (sewage).
Both refuse and sewage contain microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses
and other living things such as helminths which could make us sick.
Therefore, adequate and frequent sanitation is a prerequisite to healthy living which translates to wealthy family and nation!
Definition and types of Sanitation
Sanitation is the promotion of health through avoidance of contact with wastes and timely and proper disposal of both refuse and sewage.
There are different types of sanitation based on the situation. They are:
Basic sanitation
There should be unrestricted access to the primary toilet facility in our home and workplace.
Onsite sanitation
Proper management of the site of disposal of refuse is essential, and the waste should always be taken care of at the place where it is designated.
Food sanitation
Always wash the food and vegetable appropriately to avoid harmful materials.
Housing sanitation
We should always make sure that rooms, kitchen, living room, surroundings should be safeguarded.
In a way that all that can cause harm to our healthy living is removed and or avoided.
Environmental sanitation
To achieve healthy living, we must dispose of solid waste and sewage (home and industrial) correctly.
Firstly, unkept bushes and the gardens serve as a hideout for dangerous animals.
Moreso, realising the importance of environmental sanitation, a good number of states have a particular day in a month tagged Sanitation Day.
On sanitation days, movement of people is restricted and are asked to clean their immediate environment.
All is to ensure healthier living of the populace in the environment.
Ecological sanitation
This type of cleanliness involves the recycling of the human and animal waste into manual in gardens,
farms or as biofuel to generate power (mechanical or electrical majorly) to our homes or industries.
How to Dispose of Refuse and Sewage
Having refreshed about the health risk of unclean environment and types of sanitation,
it is essential to know how you are to make your situation health-friendly.
Wastes and sewage constitute a significant factor of sanitation.
Use the following ways to dispose of refuse to make our environment clean and healthy.
Firstly, use dustbin to collect refuse from our kitchen.
Then, cover it. When full, empty it into an incinerator or public approved dumping container or site for proper handling.
Secondly, use an incinerator. Dispose of solid waste in the incinerator, then burn it.
Moreso, microorganisms can degrade some refuse.
This type of refuse is called biodegradable rubbish.
Dig a hole at the corner of the house where refuse could be disposed.
Again, in the garden or farm, a hole could be dug for compositing to achieve increment in soil fertility.
Another way of disposing refuse is by generally burying it or using it to fill lands such as swamps and lowland areas.
It is wrong to throw your refuse in drainage. This activity contributes to an unhealthy environment.
Dispose of sewage (liquid waste like urine, human faeces, etc.) in any of these ways.
Firstly, use Pit latrine in a locality where water supply is a problem, as the primary means of disposal of sewage.
A pit latrine is a bottomless pit dug and covered by a concrete slab with a hole in it.
Secondly, the modern way of sewage disposal that is acceptable worldwide is the use of a water closet. This type of disposal usually requires a pipe-borne water supply.
Conclusion: Health is wealth
The benefit of a clean environment through proper and adequate sanitation is essential.
Firstly, health is wealth, and all hands must be on deck to achieve good health of individual, family and nation at large.
Secondly, the unclean environment could cause an outbreak of many diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera etc.
Moreso, unhealthy environment could result in death in some instances.
Lastly, the unkept environment usually serves as a breeding place for rodents, pests and diseases
It also generates terrible odour.
To achieve healthy living, we must ensure proper sanitation of our houses, offices, industries and environment periodically.
With this, you and your family would live a healthier life.
