The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) says it is collaborating with Drosophila Institute, University of Ibadan, on latest research that will alleviate the impact of hydrocarbon contamination on Ogoni people.
Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, Project Coordinator, HYPREP, communicated this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
He said that the collaboration would also contribute significantly to advancing the knowledge of medicine in relation to hydrocarbon contamination globally.
Zabbey said that the project was implementing the UNEP Report based on the needs of Ogoni people.
“We feel it is important to advance access to medicare; we will continue to do our best to broaden the scope of our interventions based on the needs of the people while also implementing the UNEP Report.
“We are implementing all the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report and also going outside to do what is necessary following the emergence of new things.
“We are doing extra things, including conducting research and building the Ogoni Specialist Hospital.’’
According to him, the project is providing value addition in its public health interventions beyond the recommendations of the UNEP Report on Ogoni.
He said that HYPREP carried out free medical outreach and surgical operations on patients with several ailments, including cataract, hernia, and fibroid at the Nchia General Hospital.
“HYPREP free medical outreach which commenced on Dec. 16 is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that has recorded a huge number of beneficiaries across four local government areas,” he said.
NAN reports that at the request of the Federal Government, UNEP has conducted an independent assessment of the environment and public health impacts of oil contamination in Ogoniland, in the Niger-Delta and options for remediation. (NAN)
