..As $8.3bn is required to check it- UNICEF
By Edoamaowo Udeme
– Abuja, Nigeria
3 out of 774 Local Governments in Nigeria have been declared free form Open Defacation by The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The Local Governments are, Dass and Warji in Bauchi State and Obanliku in Cross River State.
This was made known by Mr Drissa Yeo, the UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, at a Two Day Media dialogue on Water Supply and Sanitaion sector Reform Project organised by the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) of the Ministry of Information and Culture in collaboration with UNICEF in Jos, Plateau State.
“If only 3 out of 774 Local Governments are Open Defacation (OD) free, that means 771 Local Governments in Nigeria still practice it. It shows that a lot of awareness needs to be created so that Nigeria can be free in 2025”, he stressed.
According to Yeo, “1 gram of faeces has 10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria and 1000 parasites” That explains why a lot of work need to be done to create awareness on the effect of open defecation.
The Plateau State Commissioner for Water Resources Engr David Jaafaru Wuyep while declaring the workshop open said “We consider UNICEF as the 4th level of Government in Plateau State, because they have always been there for us”.
“When all other international bodies abandoned Plateau State during our times of crisis, UNICEF stood by us” Wuyep added
Mr Zaid Jurji, The Chief of (WASH) in his presentation, “Moving Sanitation Forward in Nigeria” noted that “only 10% of Nigerians have access to clean and potable water while 25 % practice Open Defacation”.
“in order to effectively check open defecation in different parts the country, the Federal Government will need to invest about $8.3bn.” he noted.
“Diarrhoea is the second killer of children as it amounts to 88% of cases in the world” Zaid said.
While hammering on having a healthy nation by having a clean environment, Zaid said “Investing 1$ in a child will bring back 25$ in the economy.”
Earlier in his opening remark, Olumide Osanyinpeju, Deputy Director, Child Rights Information Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture Abuja, thanked UNICEF for its technical guidance for the media on WASH issues.
“WASH is very important to the life of a child, the Sustainable Development Goal 6 clearly emphasises the importance of clean water and sanitation,” Osanyinpeju said.
“Research has shown that regular handwashing with soap can reduce the incident of diarrhoea, a disease which can be deadly to children,” he added.
“While enjoining journalists to use media to influence Community and Religious leaders to address and educate the populace on WASH, he urged them to hold government accountable to its responsibility to leverage more resources on it”.
