World Family Doctor Day: Doctors plant 300 trees in Plateau

On May 20, 2024

Society of Family Physicians of Nigeria (SOFPON) has planted 300 trees in major health institutions in Jos-Bukuru metropolis in Plateau to commemorate the 2024 World Family Doctor Day. Chairman of SOFPON, Plateau chapter, Dr Mark Gyang, on Monday in Jos, said that the initiative was to align with this year’s theme: “Healthy Planet, Healthy People.”

According to Gyang, trees play pivotal roles in the purification of the air and elimination of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as they inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen which humans breathe in.

The chairman, who is also the Head, of the Department of Family Health, at Jos University Teaching Hospital, said that the trees provided housing to millions of species that protected humans from diseases.

While noting that trees were instrumental in the mitigation of climate change, he called on members of the public to inculcate the act of tree planting and desist from felling trees.

Chief Medical Director of JUTH, Dr Pokop Bupwatda, commended SOFPON for ensuring that trees were planted within the hospital’s premises.

Bupwatda, who was represented by Prof. Chundung Maina, said that the hospital’s management would ensure that the trees were properly taken care of. “We will detail our staffers in charge of gardening to ensure that they maintain the trees,” he said.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cletus Shurkuk, said that the state government had already started implementing programs that would ensure a safe and healthy planet.

Shurkuk also said that the government had already started planting trees at the Government House. “The government has also directed members of the public to ensure that, at least, they have trees planted at their places of abode to bring about green. It is also to ensure that we avert the devastating effects of climate change. In addition, the government is trying to see how we can also get more economic trees that are going to be planted across the state. It is to ensure, not just to provide a good environment that the land will be green, but also to ensure that even in planting the trees, they can also contribute to the economic development of the state,” he said.

NAN/Wumi