Zero cholera, food or water-borne deaths in past year – deputy mayor
Durban — Environmental health was a top priority when academics and government stakeholders from various municipalities and institutions of higher learning joined forces at the Environmental Health Technical Information Session hosted by the King Cetshwayo District Municipality last week.
The three-day session covered environmental health matters and education, while discussing key issues and sharing knowledge on topics such as sustainability, public health and innovative technologies across the country.
Topics discussed included environmental pollution and mitigation strategies, climate change and its impact on health, health risk assessment and management and emerging technologies for sustainable development.
King Cetshwayo District municipal manager Philani Sibiya gave a brief history of the organisation and highlighted the district’s commitment to supporting the work performed by the environmental health section.
The third session concluded with a staff recognition and awards ceremony to recognise the hard work of the KCDM environmental health employees, motivate them to continue performing well, and strive for excellence, while also shaping a positive company culture.
The conference was supported by academics and industry experts from tertiary institutions such as the University of Johannesburg and the Tshwane University of Technology, the Departments of Health and Labour and Salga.
Specialists from these organisations presented eye-opening talks on trending developments in the field of environmental health with a special focus on law enforcement for infringement of environmental health regulations.
The awards session was officiated by King Cetshwayo District Municipality deputy mayor Sikhumbuzo Dlamini. In his keynote address, he highlighted that the district had a duty to ensure qualified and capable employees to render effective services.
"But a once-off qualification is not sufficient to keep abreast of trends and new developments in the field of environmental health. There are new diseases, pandemics and health risks that are discovered on a regular basis. For this reason, this three-day technical information session is hosted annually. Environmental health practitioners (EHP’s) and assistants have a legislative responsibility to continually update their professional knowledge and skills for the end benefit of the KCDM community," said Dlamini.
He said the district uses these information sessions to ensure that EHP’s are empowered through education and information programmes that include ethics, human rights and the legal framework.
He added that the employees in the environmental health unit have accomplished various credible achievements this past year, which he briefly highlighted:
- The KCDM cholera preparedness and implementation strategy ensured that the district recorded zero cholera cases.
- Rabies awareness and prevention: Through prompt dog bite investigations, health education of communities and participating in mass rabies vaccination campaigns, we managed to contain the spread of the deadly rabies virus to humans.
- Training on food safety standards and environmental health requirements conducted on caterers and informal food traders across the district greatly assisted in the prevention of food-borne diseases in the district communities.
- Sampling of food and water: The sampling programme plays a critical role in ensuring public drinking water complies with National Standards for drinking water (SANS 241).
- Sampling of food and swabs assists in preventing illnesses by determining the compliance of ready-to-eat food and food preparation surfaces with food safety standards.
"I am proud to state that the district has recorded zero notified death cases that are related to water-borne and food-borne diseases," said the KCDM deputy mayor.
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