No Licence, No Practice: EHOAN Verifies Environmental Health Officers Across Imo

Determined to sanitise environmental health practice and protect the public from unqualified practitioners, the Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN), Imo State Chapter, on Monday, August 31, 2026, began a weeklong verification of environmental health officers employed across Imo State.

The exercise is expected to establish the professional status of environmental health officers, technicians and assistants working in government establishments by checking their registration and current practice licences.

For the association, the verification goes beyond documentation, as environmental health personnel are frontline professionals in the prevention of diseases through environmental sanitation, waste management, pest control, food safety and hygiene, water and sanitation, among other public health services.

Speaking during the exercise, EHOAN Imo State President, Sanitarian Ada Echebima, said it was necessary to reassure the public that environmental health officers, traditionally known as sanitary inspectors, are still active in communities despite the decline in their visibility.

Sanitarian Ada Echebima

She said practitioners are currently serving in the local governments, Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), Ministries of Health and Environment, hospitals and other establishments across the state.

“We want to make sure that people providing environmental health services are qualified professionals who have undergone the required training, registered with the appropriate regulatory body and obtained their practice licences,” Echebima said.

She disclosed that there are over 600 environmental health officers in Imo State, but regretted that qualified applicants currently outnumber those in active government service.

“We are appealing to the government, which we regard as environmental health-friendly, to employ more officers to join us in the fight against preventable diseases. Prevention is at the heart of what we do,” she stated.

Echebima identified manpower shortage as a major constraint to effective environmental health coverage, noting that some local government areas have fewer than five or 10 officers.

“With that number, they cannot effectively cover the entire area. That is why it may appear as though environmental health officers are no longer there, whereas we are still working,” she explained.

On the professional requirements being examined, Dr. Isaiah Abonyi, Secretary of EHOAN, South-East Zone and lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, said being trained as an environmental health professional does not dispense with the requirement for a current practice licence.

Sanitarian Dr. Isaiah Abonyi

According to him, environmental health is regulated by the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), making registration and licensing essential for lawful professional practice.

“There is a difference between a certificate and a practice licence. What we are looking at is the current practice licence,” Abonyi said.

He said the screening so far showed a high level of registration with the regulatory council, although many practitioners were yet to renew their licences for 2026.

“By law, if you do not have a practice licence, you are regarded as a quack. That is why we are making sure that our members do not fall into that category,” he said.

Abonyi disclosed that those affected were being encouraged and given a window to renew their licences, adding that similar verification would be extended to other states in the South-East.

The exercise also received the backing of the Imo State Ministry of Health, with the Director of Public Health, Dr. Uloma Evi-Parker, describing it as beneficial to both the profession and the public.

Evi-Parker, who represented the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Chioma Vivian Egu, said identifying properly qualified practitioners would strengthen government’s efforts to maintain standards in environmental health services.

Dr. Uloma Evi-Parker

“This will go a long way in curbing quackery in the practice of environmental health in the state. We are very happy that it is taking place,” she said.

She stressed that environmental health officers perform indispensable preventive functions by inspecting surroundings, identifying environmental nuisances and ensuring their abatement.

“They are very important to the health, hygiene and safety of Imo residents and the entire environment,” Evi-Parker stated.

Adding his voice, the Financial Secretary of EHOAN, Imo State Chapter, Sanitarian Eleonu Kingsley said the exercise also provides an opportunity to protect the integrity of both the profession and the association and as well ensure that qualified personnel are recognised.

Sanitarian Kingsley Eleonu

Kingsley highlighted waste management, public health pest control, environmental sanitation and standards, food safety and hygiene, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene as specialised areas where trained environmental health personnel can contribute to public health.

He urged government to consider qualified professionals when making future recruitments into these areas, while stressing that practitioners must also fulfil their registration and licensing obligations.

“Environmental health services are not an all-comers affair. You must be properly trained and go through the rigorous process required to become a professional in the environmental health field,” Kingsley said.