The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) on Thursday, launched an environmental cleaning campaign in Abyei town under the caption, “A clean environment for today and for generations to come.”

The campaign was organized by the UNPOL, in collaboration with the Strategic Communication and Public Information Section and the Force HQs Civil-Military Coordination Section, as part of activities marking this year’s week-long United Nations Day, 24 October.

The UNISFA Force Commander and Acting Head of Mission, Major General Tesfay Gidey Hailemichael, told the community members present that, cleaning up the environment not only creates a more pleasant place to live in, but it also provides community health benefits such as the elimination of breeding sites for mosquitoes and other dangerous pests.

“A clean environment makes a community healthy and happy”, General Hailemichael said, adding that it is very important that we uphold the basic principles of hygiene always.

He advised the community to regard the day’s cleaning campaign as the first step towards a bigger endeavor towards embracing a culture of environmental cleanliness, and further encouraged everyone to make it a continuous exercise. He also challenged them to find ways of creating wealth from trash like what other communities in other parts of the world are doing.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief, Bulabek Deng Kuol, stated that the life of a human being is not safe in a dirty environment. He charged his community to take advantage of the campaign to embrace the culture of ensuring a clean and healthy environment, stressing that by the campaign, “UNISFA has shown us how we can be safer in a clean environment”.