The experts expressed these views during a seminar held to observe “World Environmental Health Day 2017”, here on Tuesday. Project Management Unit-Punjab Public Health Agency (PMU-PPHA), Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, Government of the Punjab organized the event in collaboration with UNICEF.
On this occasion, government officials from both federal and provincial departments and ministries including Punjab’s Environment Protection Department, environmental health experts, development professionals, and technical experts from UN agencies, as well as leading national and international organizations were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, Begum Zakia Shahnawaz Khan, Provincial Minister for Environment Protection, remarked that addressing the interactions of environment and health is vital for sustainable development.
Khawaja Imran Nazir emphasized upon the fact that environmental health today is not a single group’s challenge, we need the meaningful engagement of everyone to improve the health of the people of the Punjab and tackle emerging challenges.
Human health is profoundly affected by weather and climate, and despite considerable progress in health services delivery and reforms over the last few years, a mixture of environmental health challenges is emerging as a threat to healthcare services, the experts said and added that deaths from extreme weather events such as heat stress, along with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, infectious disease outbreaks, and malnutrition are on the rise. On top of that, Punjab is experiencing a population boom and consequently, the burden of disease on limited healthcare resources is reaching critical levels.
The follow-up meeting of the technical working group culminated with a commitment to adopt measures that improve knowledge sharing and collaboration between various stakeholders and ensure sustainable action towards national and provincial policy agendas for environmental health, drinking water and sanitation.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Shabana Haider, Member Health, Planning and Development Department, called on the stakeholders to increase cross sectoral collaboration and adopt effective measures to improve environmental health indicators in the Punjab.

Omuthiya CEO Samuel Mbango in a telephonic interview said they were working hard on addressing the problem, which has become a daily occurrence exacerbated by the long distances Namwater technicians have to travel to the town to repair the pumps.
The technicians are stationed at Ondangwa, which presents a challenge for them to address the issue timeously when the need arises.
“Sometimes this happens in the night and those people are far and sometimes cannot travel that time and only work on it in the morning. So, if it happens that the power trips in the night, it means there will be no water pumped, which leaves the taps dry. On the other hand this creates low pressure,” Mbango explained.

UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) said it has launched over 60 infrastructure development projects across the globe in partnership with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity and Humanitarian Establishment and the Emirates Red Crescent.
UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) said it has launched over 60 infrastructure development projects including setting up of water plants, wells, and desalination plants across the globe.
The key focus countries included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Somalia, Thailand, Djibouti, the Philippines, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali, Somalia, Egypt, Sudan, China, and Iraq.
Upon completion, these projects are expected to serve over 250,000 people, said a statement from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).
The work was done in co-operation with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity and Humanitarian Establishment and the Emirates Red Crescent, it stated.
"At Suqia, we are committed to achieving one of the key objectives set by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives foundation, which is to combat poverty and disease by contributing to finding permanent and sustainable solutions to water scarcity around the world," remarked Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the chairman of the board of trustees of Suqia.
"We do this by conducting research and studies to develop innovative and affordable technologies to help millions of people around the world who suffer from shortages, scarcity, in addition to providing water to millions of the needy around the world," said Al Tayer, who is also the managing director and chief executive of Dewa.

HYDERABAD: Farmers in the rain-fed Kohistan region expect bumper crops of sorghum, guar, and apple gourd this year, as they received heavy rains after 11 years.
“Since then, the people were facing dryness and had to sell out their traditional assets; animals, one after the other to survive the situation,” he added.
While sorghum, guar, and apple gourd would bring prosperity for farmers, the sesame crop would likely give disappointing yields this year.
Sorghum too is considered drought tolerant, but its cultivation has dropped among the farmers in the Kohistan region, whereas in barrage areas, it is mainly used as fodder.
Similarly, guar is a better food and cash crop for the farmers in arid zones, like Kohistan, Kaccho and Thar Desert, whereas the apple gourd is a major cash crop.
The gourd is sold for Rs2,000/maund in major markets, and is presently being sold for Rs60 to Rs100/kg in local markets.
Abdul Majeed Palari, another farmer of the same village, said his family had 100 goats, but now they were left with only five.
Abdul Majeed, an elder in the community, said Kohistan still produced best quality onion.
But it all depended on the market forces, he said. That is why many farmers are reluctant to cultivate onion in this area,” the community elder added.

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Secunderabad: Bore-wells getting dried up in the city has become a common scenario.
The colony has with three bore-wells in the park, each of them measuring 400 feet, 500 feet and 1,000 feet respectively.

However, this change has come not just like that, but over a period of comprehensive and meticulous planning, efficient execution of planned works and equally efficient operation and maintenance of each and every component devised in the project, “24×7 Water Supply System To Ilkal City”, taken up under the North Karnataka Urban Sector Investment Programme (NKUSIP), says Shivanand Kapashi, former Executive Director of the programme.
Although situated under the nose of Krishna river, which flows just 28 km away from the city, the situation was appalling throughout the year and the woes of the residents would only manifest in various degrees during summers.
The demographics on one side, and the availability of a major source of water like the Almatti dam across Krishna River on the other side turned out to be a blessing-in-disguise for the residents of the city.
The state government selected Ilkal along with 13 other towns and cities in the north Karnataka region to improve water access to households.
Finally, the project was conceived, and it was decided that it would be implemented at an initial estimated cost of Rs.19.79 crore, with the assistance of the Project Consultant SNC Lavalin Infrastructure Pvt.
Subsequently, water is supplied to every household in Ilkal city through a total distribution length of 124 km.

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MULTAN: “Our farming community is facing water related issues and the key solution is to incorporate research in the policy making.
He was addressing a seminar on water resource management. Agriculture experts were also present on the occasion. The theme of the seminar was to highlight and discuss the critical emerging issues of the water security and their possible solutions.
He said, “The university is playing the role of on-ground facilitator between the research and the extension domains of agriculture.
He also highlighted the role of the university in developing awareness in farming community and highlighting important issues.

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Residents in many parts of Coonoor are having to come up with a variety of contingency measures to manage the continuing water shortage in the town which has been persisting for more than a year.
Most residents, who have been facing the water crisis from last year are storing rainwater in drums and other water containment units and are purchasing water from private water providers. Some residents, such as those living in Rajaji Nagar and Model House Road, are even relying on a small stream that meets a sewage drain to wash their clothes and vessels, all in a bid to conserve clean water for drinking and cooking.
Jaythool D, an area resident and a flower vendor in Coonoor, said that she relies on the stream when there is no water left in the plastic storage tanks in her house. She says that the stream mixes with sewage let out from other homes, but has no option but to use the water to clean the vessels and to wash clothes.
N. Mohan, a tea vendor in Rajaji, said that many people use the polluted stream as most people living in the area are daily wage workers and cannot afford to buy water from private water providers. “We receive water once every 20-24 days, and the water is released only at night sometimes, which makes it difficult for us to collect and store it,” he said.
The main reason for the continuing water crisis is because of the lack of rains in the catchment areas of both the Bandhimai and Ralliah dams, the two primary sources of drinking water to the town, said R. Manonmani, Municipal Engineer, Coonoor.

Mr Walker, the chief executive of the Texas-based aviation company SOAR, carries out an increasingly popular – and in some cases, controversial – effort to chemically impregnate clouds to increase rainfall.
Drought has over the past decade wrought economic havoc from the United States to China and beyond, and impacted food prices worldwide.
In the case of Malawi, it showed that a 50 per cent reduction in the effect of drought led to a 20 per cent higher per capita GDP at the end of the simulation.
The extreme US great grain belt drought of 2012, meanwhile, pushed up world food prices, exerting pressure on the cost of living and affecting food security, UNFAO says.
In the UAE, officials at the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) say cloud seeding efforts here are working.
In 2015, the centre began offering US$5 million in grant money via its Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science to researchers working on water security challenges.
Prof Harrison’s project, Electrical aspects of rain generation, is based on the natural occurrence of electrical charges and their potential to modify water droplets even when clouds are not charged to the extent that leads to thunderstorms.
Nobody can make clouds,” says Roelof Bruintjes, a senior scientist who works on weather modification for the US National Center for Atmospheric Research.
The WMO is carrying out a global review of knowledge on cloud seeding, with the aim of preparing official advice and a comprehensive database of projects as the number of countries seeking to invest in the technology rises, Mr Terblanche says.

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By Engr.
The provision of water in sufficient quantity for the world population has been a herculean task for most countries across the globe. That is why most countries of the world are now jittering about this precarious situation where demand for water has always outweighed water supply globally.
This situation has continued to propel Government to show high level of commitment towards improving water supply in the State.
More importantly, the approval has been given to LWC to facilitate the construction of 100MGD Odomola water scheme to serve Lekki, Victoria Island, Onikan, Epe , Ibeju – Lekki, Badore and other communities in that Axis based on Public – Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
It is a positive step towards conservation of water, so that a considerable number of Lagosians will have access to water and also change customers’ attitude to the valuable natural resources and to manage water consumption effectively.
The State has deployed 15,000 units of pre-paid meters in Lekki, Ikeja, Surulere, Itire, Yaba/ Ebute-Meta, Iwaya, Victoria Island, Victoria Island Annex, Dolphin Esatate, MKO Abiola Garden etc.
This initiative aims to improve the environment by making it cleaner, safer and healthier for all Lagosians by promoting a harmonized and holistic approach to environmental challenges; and as a result, improve operational efficiency.