Partners in environmental health have raised concerns about emerging and re-emerging diseases and convened to discuss ways to prevent the diseases and/or check their spread.

They say a healthy environment has many benefits for human health, in addition to such factors as access to clean air, clean water, and healthy food. These, they recommend, can reduce the risk of disease and promote overall health and well-being. This is the responsibility of the community.

One of the most recent emerging diseases was the COVID-19 pandemic which was first reported in late 2019 and has since become a major public health concern globally.

Uganda has just overcome an Ebola epidemic that afflicted the districts of Mubende, Kyegegwa, and Kakumiro, leaving over 50 people dead. Some of the re-merging diseases include Ebola, Measles, Tuberculosis, Yellow Fever, and Polio. Partners explained that the public should play its role in informing the health experts on the new emergencies in their communities.

Environmental policies and regulations aimed at protecting human health can also benefit the environment by reducing pollution and conserving natural resources.

Dean, Makerere University School of Public Health, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze noted that public dialogue is one of the ways to inform the public about the emerging and re–emerging diseases.

Exposure to environmental factors such as pollution, climate change, and natural disasters can have significant impacts on human health. It is because of this that the media fraternity was encouraged to effectively report on environmental health

Shafik Ssenkubuge, Makerere University Environmental Students’ Association (MUEHSA) President called for the participation of the students’ body to conserve the environment in which they live in their daily activities.

This formed part of the discussion at the 18th annual Makerere University Environmental Students’ Association scientific conference under the theme “For Health, Prevention is our Priority”

Gloria Irankunda