The federal government has directed the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to ensure effective implementation of 14 new curricula for environmental and public health programmes.

The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, gave the directive on Thursday in Abuja at the unveiling of the Higher National Diploma (HND) curricula.

The curricula cover environmental health technology, public health technology, and epidemiology and disease control technology.

Mr Lawal urged EHCON, NBTE and participating institutions to establish capacity-building programmes for lecturers, instructors, assessors and programme coordinators.

He said this would ensure a common understanding of the curricula and consistent delivery across polytechnics and monotechnics.

The minister said successful implementation would require qualified teaching personnel, functional laboratories, appropriate equipment and adequate opportunities for field training.

“As discussions continue on the framework for implementation, particular attention should be given to institutional readiness, quality assurance, accreditation, practical training, continuous curriculum review, industry participation, research and the application of emerging technologies.

“The implementation process should also establish effective mechanisms for monitoring outcomes and addressing identified gaps,” he said.

Mr Lawal said the value of the curricula would ultimately depend on the quality of graduates produced and their ability to address public health and environmental challenges.

He said EHCON and NBTE developed the curricula in collaboration to strengthen technical and professional training in environmental health.

According to him, the programmes will give environmental health officers and other professionals opportunities to specialise in critical areas of environmental and public health practice.

He said the curricula would also provide a coordinated framework for producing graduates with the technical knowledge, practical skills and professional competencies required in the sector.

Mr Lawal said environmental health was central to public health, as air and water quality, food safety and waste management had direct implications for human health and productivity.

He said the specialised programmes were timely, given Nigeria’s challenges with poor sanitation, unsafe food, pollution, climate change, poor waste management and environmentally related disease outbreaks.

He added that addressing the challenges required professionals equipped with scientific knowledge, modern technology and practical skills.