World Cleanup Day falls on September 19 each year.

Kambikambi addressed young athletes at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) Zambia before cleaning activities took place.

The NOCZ secretary general believes that the message of World Cleanup Day is especially important given the global health crisis, as good hygiene practices can help prevent the spread of the virus.

"Every day our newspapers, websites, programmes are flooded with stories about the environment, especially this year that we are in coronavirus crisis," Kambikambi said.

"The earth is experiencing unprecedented scale of extreme weather events heat waves, dry spells, cold winds and Zambia is not an exemption, this is a clear warning and message that we should act now to move through cushioning the situation by keeping our environments safe and clean. 

"With the take of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, it is of paramount important to take extra care of the quality of cleanliness of our environment."

Following the speech, Kambikambi and OYDC Zambia chief executive Fredrick Chitangala led those present in a cleaning session at the OYDC Zambia facility.

Representatives from the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, Christopher Katongo Foundation and Citizens Environmental and Social Concern were all present.

World Cleanup Day is promoted by Let’s Do It, a non-governmental organisation which recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa.