Ogoni cleanup: HYPREP begins implementation of UNEP Report

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), an agency charged with the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, Report on the clean-up of Ogoni and other Niger Delta areas has begun the implementation of the report area with healthcare outreach to the people.

The agency has already embarked on health outreach programme in conjunction with the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN) and Ogoni Doctors Forum (ODF) which would enable the agency to undertake a comprehensive health impact assessment study and also to relate such study to hydrocarbon pollution.

Speaking while flagging off the health outreach programme at the General Hospital, Terabor in Gokana Local government area, on Saturday, the Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil, said the health outreach where the health challenges of the indigent Ogoni people were addressed would became part of the HYPREP project.

He said: “We are here to commence the initial stages of the health impact assessment study, which is part of the emergency measures recommended in the UNEP report. We are going to look at all the diseases in this area by interacting with the patients and also to demonstrate if there is a link between those diseases and oil impact.

“The essence is to capture the health history of all the patients that we interact with. That health history is one of the things that will build the data base for the large scale health impact assessment study, which will be starting soon.”

He added that the programme kicked off on December 26 in Khana local government area where the team of doctors attended to a large crowd.

According to the HYPREP Coordinator, “We proceed to Tai local government area on December 28 and we experienced even more and more turnout. Today, in Gokana local government area, we have well over the number we have expected. It is a full hospital that I am seeing here. This is telling us that the people need help and the implementation of the UNEP report is providing that help.”

Dekil told the people that UNEP report had two clear mandates to remediate all impacted sites in Ogoni land and restore livelihood, adding that in the aspect of livelihood, the agency was working in collaboration with the United Nations, which produced the report including UNITAR.

“Livelihood is an ongoing thing, which we are also discussing with various arms of the United Nations including UNITAR. The Minister of State for Environment, Usman Jubril, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UNITAR to this effect. He has also succeeded in getting the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to secure for us Project Management, Communication, Monitoring, and Evaluation consultants,” he added.

The coordinator further stated that oil exploration in Ogoniland has adversely affected their livelihood and as such there was need to come up with modern skill form of livelihood, where the people would be given training in certain skills in order to eke out a source of livelihood necessary in their environment.

Dekil also said that HYPREP had procured the services of environmental and health experts as well as companies that would provide water in communities across the four local government areas of Ogoni land.

“To remediate the impacted sites, we are having discussions with UNEP, who did the report as well as UNOPs for the project management and other arms of the United Nations that will be necessary. For instance, the health impact assessment study, we have been working with the World Health Organization (WHO),” he added.

He assured that the project was continual and ongoing that would take a long time in achieving full implementation.

Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt