Luapula Marks Environmental Health Day With Calls for Data, Water and Waste Action, But No Figures

Mansa, September 29, 2026. Luapula Province used its World Environmental Health Day commemoration in Mansa to renew a commitment to science-based environmental health. The Mansa Municipal Council issued the statement on September 27. All districts in the province attended. The theme for 2026 was "Environmental Health: Standing with Science to Protect Communities." Government officials, environmental health practitioners, local authorities, health workers, traditional and community leaders, academia, the private sector and civil society took part. Luapula Permanent Secretary Prudence Chinama Kangwa, speaking through Deputy Permanent Secretary Evans Sikabbuba, said environmental health goes beyond keeping surroundings clean. She said it covers safe water, sanitation and hygiene, food safety, solid waste management, pollution control, healthy housing and safe workplaces. She said the province still faces problems linked to inadequate sanitation, waste management, water quality, settlement development, pollution and climate change. She called for stronger surveillance, better water and sanitation services, food safety promotion, effective waste management and the protection of water resources. She said decisions must be guided by reliable data, especially to identify risks early, and that Government cannot achieve this alone. Mansa District Public Health Officer Steven Ngoyi said stakeholders should move beyond generating scientific information and turn evidence into interventions that benefit communities. He urged residents to keep their surroundings clean, practise safe hygiene and manage waste responsibly. The speeches call for reliable data, yet the statement itself offers none. It names the problems but gives no figures on water quality, sanitation coverage or waste collection in Luapula. It also gives no budget or timeline. Residents can hold officials to account only when a target and a date are on the record.