Harare — AMERICAN Indians, who were the first not citizens of America (including Mexico and Brazil) used to maintain that we do to inherit land from our ancestors, but we borrow it from our children.

That gives us, adults, a very heavy responsibility of seeing that a future generation shall receive from us the land in a better condition than it was when we had responsibility for managing the environment.

It also puts into perspective the real challenges of proper use of our world meaning that we are not at liberty to do what we like.

Roman Law had the concept called "USUFRUCT" meaning that one could be entitled to the products or produce of the land but ownership of the land resided in the state.

I feel a lot of confusion and conflict can be avoided if we all adopt those principles, namely, that we only have the right to use the land properly and we face God's wrath if we abuse that privilege.

Next month, in Denmark, countries are meeting to address the growing concern about climate change, and the problems presented to our mother earth by human activity.

The impact on health is, probably, the most important aspect of this issue and as it affects the Public Health of all nations, communities and individual households I propose to highlight the importance of the role of housing in relation to Public Health.

In Chinese medicine, 3 000 years ago, the aspects of earth, air, fire and water were seen as very important in human Health and this theme was re-emphasised by Paracelsus otherwise known as Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hohenheim, born in 1493.

It is perhaps logical therefore as well as convenient to discuss those 4 basic elements in relation to shelter and health.

Earth: From time immemorial the family has needed shelter and the interdependence of houses and human health has increased progressively since those early days.

Abraham Lincoln once said that a basic problem of humanity was the fact that the good Lord had stopped making land but had not stopped making people.

He also said God must love the poor because he made so many of them.

So it is important for us even a country of relatively low population density to adjust our demands for housing according to the need of people.

In this connection, it is often forgotten that providing a large stand apart from wasting space and increasing the cost to the community (i.e Local Government) can result also in an economic burden for families who cannot afford their upkeep.

That is why for example, we see so many houses in the Avenues being converted to offices or diplomatic missions because individual families can no longer afford the basic monthly costs.

That is also why the tendency to build multi storey accommodation has increased in the recent half century or so, culminating in high rise buildings which present new problems.

It is also very important to remember that for the first time in the history of man kind in 2007 (September) the number of people living in cities and towns exceeded those living in rural settings.

So the optimum use of the earth is very important to the health and happiness of the people who are in future going to occupy them, and they must not, like the hostels in Mbare be designed for a different category of people than at present occupy them.

The hostels were created, like compounds, to accommodate single male workers by the former colonial regime which wanted to keep women out of the town and black males away from the quiet acres of exclusively white communities.

Better planning at the initial stages can ensure that proper infrastructure and amenities for communities, including sporting and farming activities, can be provided.

Also proper planning can avoid use of unsuitable soils such as black clay and collapsing sands.

Air: Ventilation and the provision of plenty of fresh air in building projects is an accepted requirement for good health.

In Zimbabwe our laws and by-laws and model building regulations make that a requirement of every accommodation structure.

But in a situation where poverty, lack of heating facilities in winter and over crowding are facts of life, it becomes difficult to attain minimum standards with the result that diseases like TB, Asthma and rheumatism to name but three are prevalent.

Ventilation requirements are, however, sometimes prescribed in academic, unrealistic, and, sometimes even a naive fashion, often without taking known scientific facts into consideration.

Here too the housing manager can use his influence. For instance, how many people realise that 10mm gap between a door and the floor leads to better ventilation than the much beloved and so often prescribed airbrick, which, after the trouble and expenses of its installation is often as not, rendered completely ineffectual by the occupants of a house pasting paper over it.

Of course, a copy of The Herald can be stuffed under the dooor to counteract the simple ventilation requirement too!.

Another aspect of air in relation to health is atmospheric pollution.

The notoriously dangerous practice of lighting fires in an enclosed room has led to many deaths and respiratory problems as well as burning down of houses and stores in the recent past; it also leads to rapid corrosion of corrugated roofs and other materials and the deterioration of the curtains and clothing as well as making impregnated mosquito nets (ITN) ineffective.

I put forward two partial solutions:-

l Better indoor thermal conditions reducing the need for expensive or hazardous artificial forms of heating and , reducing the ventilation to conserve heat.

l Education, by assisting people in building houses which improve the environment e.g by using cheap methods of insulating the roof.

Something also should be said about the risk of asbestosis.

Since the serious health implications of inhaling air-borne asbestos fibres have received a great deal of publicity, especially overseas where there has been what must be regarded as an overreaction, some concern has arisen, in respect of the use of asbestos cement roofs, fittings and water supply and drainage pipes.

In this connection, however, it must be remembered that asbestos fibres are only dangerous if they are inhaled, and that there is no evidence to indicate that asbestos cement products, including roofing and radiant heater panels, are a health hazard, when used as they currently are in housing in Zimbabwe.

Fire: Fire as it relates to housing must also include energy and especially energy conservation.

It maybe asked how does energy conservation relate to health?

The answer is brief, clear and highly significant.

Already we are seeing power cuts and load shedding not because of the inability to pay the electricity bill only but also because of the way we are using energy without any regard of what will happen in the future.

Our house appliances from lighting, to stoves, to fridges and in some cases washing machines and other electrical gadgets are increasing exponentially.

In the 200 years since 1810 man's per capita consumption of fossil fuels -- coal petroleum and gas -- has increased by fifty times -- in other words five thousand per cent. The present rate of energy consumption means that in 5% of recorded history of five thousand years, human beings will have used up virtually all of the world fossil fuels reserves. Since the fossil fuels took an immense time to build up, it is estimated that we are squandering the resources built up in 150 thousand millionth of the time they took to form.

I think water wastage automatically implies energy wastage.

Every litre extra of water wasted means more energy for pumping purifying and disposing of water.

The inevitable consequences will be two fold.

l The cost of energy will be increased in real terms. The electricity (ZESA Bill) will constitute a greater proportion of the monthly salary or wage.

l As we have already seen in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as in other parts of the world like Somalia and DRC competition for scarce resources will lead to conflict and poverty and break down of services.

Protection against fire also has to be mentioned. Street compliance with fire regulations and maintaining fire fighting services are essential and in some cases the occurrence of fire can have health implications.

Toxic chemicals or even lethal fumes can be given off in fires and people especially infants can get serious burning from domestic fires if proper precautions are not applied. That's resulting in a increase in the burden of disease unnecessarily by the need for urgent medical attention and treatment.

So in urban complexes we must ensure that flammable substances like petrol are properly stored, veld fires are prevented and fire services are maintained in a state of constant alert.

Additionally, housing design for new areas take into consideration designs, layout and services which will not waste energy whilst maintaining fire prevention and promoting good house keeping.

Water: The provision and distribution of water of acceptable quality and in adequate amounts, and the rapid and hygienic removal of used or unwanted water and liquid wastes, apart from being basic and essential health requirements, are also fundamental in the provision and management of housing. In primitive communities, water, generally from naturally available sources such as springs and rivers, is used only for drinking, cooking and the simplest ablution activities.

As the level of living and health requirements rises, so the quality, quantity and management of water should improve in proportion to the standard of living of the community concerned.

It has been estimated, for instance, that the per capita water requirement of the Khoisan was about 2 litres per day, while in an urban residential community water consumption varies from an average of about 75 litres per capita per day in a low income suburb to about 1 100 litres per capita per day in a high income suburb or more than 500 times as much as our ancestors used.

In modern urban communities in developed countries, the quality of the water, in terms of its freedom from harmful bacteria, dissolved solids and gases and even in terms of clarity and softness, is often taken for granted; perhaps housing managers could make consumers more conscious and appreciative of the magnitude and complexity of the task and of the skill and competence of those who make these benefits possible, and how they can be helped in their task by the community.

The removal of waste or unwanted water must be looked at not only in the context of domestic drainage and sewerage, but also as regards storm water. While these are all what may be termed engineering matters, the technical aspects of which are generally competently looked after during the design and construction phases of the provision of housing, I believe that the housing manager not only has a role to play but that he has a real increasing responsibility in two important tasks.

Dr T J Stamps is a Health Advisor in the Office of the President and Cabinet.