UN ranks SE safest zone, Onitsha most polluted, NE/NW least developed

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has named the South Eastern states as the safest place to live and carry on business in Nigeria amongst all the six geopolitical zones in the country.

 The South Eastern states include Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo 

It described the zone on its index as the “the most human security secure” geopolitical zone in Nigeria in its latest 2016 National Human Development Report for Nigeria.

It also named the nation’s North West and North East as the worst, as per their latest index report.

The report defined Human Security as safety from chronic threats such as hunger, disease and repression.

As well as protection from sudden and harmful disruptions in patterns of daily life whether in homes, jobs or communities.

The UNDP Resident Economic Advisor, Mr. Ojijo Odhiambo, said at the launching of the report in Abuja on Friday that the North-East and the North-West parts of Nigeria remain the most affected areas in Nigeria

“The North-East region of the country has been the most affected by the more than five-yearlong military insurgency. 

“It also remains among the least developed parts of the country”, he noted.

The report highlighted also that the existing gap in human security across the nation’s geopolitical zones shows “the most human security secure geopolitical zone is the South-East.

“[Meanwhile] the North-West and the North-East geopolitical zones are the least human security secured, with residents of the Federal Capital Territory being the worst in most realms of the Human Security Index. 

Another arm of the UN, the World Health Organizations (WHO) has ranked Anambra’s commercial hub, Onitsha as the most polluted city in the world.

In a report on Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution, it held that Onitsha has about 30 times more than the recommended small and fine particulate matter, PM.

Also, Kaduna was listed 5th, Aba and Umuahia – both in Abia state – came 6th and 16th respectively, leaving Nigeria with the highest number among the 20 most polluted cities in the world.

In a publication by the Austria based Global Reporters and monitored in Awka, WHO stated that it has monitored 3000 cities in 103 countries of the world in the past two years.

It has found that globally, air pollution, has risen by eight per cent in the last five years.

It measured the level of pollution by the amount of “small and fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) during the five-year period of 2008-2013.

“PM10 and PM2.5 include pollutants such as sulfate, nitrates and black carbon, which penetrate deep into the lungs and into the cardiovascular system,” the report read.

The rise in air pollution has caused a rise in “the risk of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma, increases for the people who live in them”.

WHO says people in low income countries are the worst hit by air pollution.

According to the organization, “More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits.

“While all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most impacted. 

“According to the latest urban air quality database, 98% of cities in low- and middle income countries with more than 100 000 inhabitants do not meet WHO air quality guidelines. 

“However, in high-income countries, that percentage decreases to 56%.”

From Chuks Collins, Awka

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