Mkpoikana Udoma
27 December 2017, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt — As part of activities to mark the commencement of the proper cleanup of Ogoniland, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, has begun the implementation of the preliminary stage of the Health Impact Assessment in Ogoni land.
To this end the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil, announced that the federal government is committed to implementing the cleanup of Ogoni, adding that all the programmes included in the report would be carried out.
Dekil said the Health Impact Assessment project which has commenced in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State is in partnership with Medical Women’s Association of Nigerian, MWAN.
The Project Coordinator disclosed that the health outreach is in line with the recommendations of the United Nation in its report on Ogoni.
He explained that the preliminary phase was carried out with the use of local manpower, adding that the full implementation which he said would commence soon would be monitored by the World Health Organisation, WHO.
According to him, “We are here today to commence the preliminary stage of the Health Impact Assessment in Ogoni land. We are starting in Khana today and we will replicate same in all the four LGAs of Ogoni.
“We are carrying out the audit and taking note of all the cases today. We are doing screening for various ailments. The report would be used to do a health record for Ogoni.
“HYPREP has the capacity to implement the project and the Federal Government is truly committed to the cleanup,” Dekil said.
For her part, the President of MWAN, Dr. Ibimonye Porbeni, noted that the exercise was to ensure healthiness among residents of the area and commended HYPREP for the move.
Porbeni commended the massive turn out of the people of Khana, especially, Bori, for the outreach, adding that all the over 1000 patients been attended to, so far.
