​The City of Johannesburg hosted the World Environmental Health Day on Friday, 05 October 2012 at Metro Centre in Braamfontein.
 
As part of celebrating this day, the City of Johannesburg Environmental Health Directorate targeted Environmental Health Professionals and professional bodies, Environmental Health educators, students, research institutions, political leaders, community and other organizations representing the interests of the Environmental Health.
 
The environmental health experts were sharing information on different topics including environmental health promotion, the prevalence of lead poisoning in young children in South Africa and rodent control in the City of Johannesburg. It was conducted under the theme: “Placing Environmental Health at the Heart of Human Health - and Joburg 2040”.
 
Siyabonga Nomvethe, South African soccer player who has played in several European leagues, and now represents Moroka Swallows in the Premier Soccer league, was declared as the Face of the Environmental Health in the City of Johannesburg.
 
Nomvethe has represented the Bafana Bafana (South Africa national football team) since May 1999, and he played in the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.
 
He urged the members of the community to refrain from illegal dumping of refuse and waste on vacant stands and open spaces as it contribute to the challenge of rodents within the City.
 
Cllr Nonceba Molwele, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development said, “As the Environmental Health fraternity, I'm sure that you recognise the continuing threats to human health posed by pollution, climate change, urbanisation and poverty. Equally, you must probably realize the urgent need to adopt a preventative approach so as to maintain and improve the quality of the natural environment, air, water, food, housing and communities in order to reduce the impact of disease and public health”.
 
“It is worth mentioning that Environmental Health is a direct competency of local government and this is enshrined in our constitution. It is therefore imperative that the presence of the Environmental Health Practitioners be felt across all our 130 wards within the City of Joburg”, said Molwele.
 
Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, and all the related factors impacting behaviours. It encompasses the assessment and control of those environmental factors that can potentially affect health.
 
It is targeted towards preventing disease and creating health-supportive environments. On 26 September 2011, the annual World Environmental Health Day was launched by the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH) Council at its meeting in Indonesia.
 
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