Delta Assembly Moves to Replace 69-Year-Old Public Health Law

The Delta State House of Assembly has pledged to subject the proposed Public Health and Hygiene Bill to extensive legislative scrutiny to ensure it effectively addresses current public health and environmental sanitation concerns across the state.

The assurance was given by the Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Hon. (Dr.) Ferguson Onwo, during a public hearing on the proposed legislation held at the Press Centre of the Assembly Complex in Asaba.

Speaking at the hearing, Onwo explained that the Bill is designed to repeal the Public Health Law of 1957 and replace it with a modern legal framework capable of responding to evolving public health and sanitation challenges.

He noted that the existing law has become outdated and no longer reflects the realities of contemporary health management and environmental protection.

According to the lawmaker, the proposed legislation seeks to strengthen public health administration, improve sanitary standards, and enhance the overall well-being of residents across the state.

He added that the Bill contains provisions aimed at improving the prevention and control of communicable diseases, regulating the disposal of human waste, preventing the adulteration of food and agricultural products, and addressing practices such as open urination and open defecation in public spaces.

Onwo stated that the ultimate goal of the legislation is to promote a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for all Deltans, assuring stakeholders that all recommendations and submissions made during the hearing would be carefully considered before the Bill is passed.

Stakeholders drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the Ministries of Health and Environment, the Delta State Primary Health Care Development Agency, and environmental health practitioners, commended the Assembly for initiating the review of the decades-old law.

In their contributions, they called for the enactment of a comprehensive and enforceable legal framework that would strengthen public health governance, improve environmental sanitation, and support healthier living conditions throughout the state.

The public hearing formed part of the Assembly’s legislative process aimed at encouraging stakeholder participation and ensuring that laws enacted reflect the needs and aspirations of the people of Delta State.