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Sola Ojo, Kaduna
In continuation of its Sanitation Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN II) project, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has intensified its campaign to end open defecation in Kaduna State.
The campaign, UNICEF said, became necessary to encourage all households to have at least a toilet as a means of ending open defecation. UNICEF believes that, once the issue of open defecation is adequately addressed, excreta-related diseases such as cholera and vomiting, typhoid etc., would be greatly reduced and people’s health would improve.
It is against this backdrop that UNICEF in partnership with the Kaduna State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), with financial support from DFID, have been working on SHAWN project II in all the local government areas of the state
UNICEF and Kaduna State RUWASSA, organized a two-day meeting with critical stakeholders (LG chairmen, traditional, religious, women leaders and other prime movers) in four local government areas which are Kachia, Jaba, Zangon Kataf and Jema’a, centered to review progress and strategies to end open defecation.
Fielding questions from the newsmen during the meeting at a hotel in Kafanchan, the headquarters of Jema’a local government, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) specialist, UNICEF, Kaduna Field Office, Mrs Theresa Pamma said, her organisation was going to support the LGAs in the state to review local government by-laws and update the required actions because the current bye-laws established have become obsolete.
“We are going to support the government to review community byelaws and ensure the implementation at LGA and community levels. We will also embark on massive awareness campaign amongst all the key stakeholders who are the traditional, religious, women and youth leaders.
Commenting on the success of the project in the area she said, “all the LGAs have improved. But in all sincerity, the most improvement has come from Jaba and Kachia LGAs. When we started implementation of this programme, we did not have single community that was open defecation free (ODF) but as at today, Kaduna state has 1402 and we are looking forward to having LGA-wide ODF soon.
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“As at now, in all the four local government that are here in this meeting, there are a number of communities that have stopped open defecation. The number of ODF we have are from Kachia local government are 477 followed by Jaba with 255.
“But if you look at the number of communities in each of these LGAs, most progress has come from Jaba and we are looking forward to Jaba being declared ODF in a couple of weeks or few months.
“UNICEF’s target is to see all the LGAs in Kaduna becoming ODF. We want everybody in Kaduna state to have access to a sanitary toilet. We don’t want a single person in Kaduna State whether old or young, male or female to defecate in the open. We want everybody to use toilet.”
In their separate interview, Chairman, Zango Kataff LGA, Dr. Elias Manza, Vice Chairman, Jema’a LGA, Ngbomi M. Digah and District Head, Asso, Kagoma Chiefdom of Jema’a LGA, Barnabas Samaila, were all agreed that, there were emerging issues that were not there except for the fact that this is being brought to the front burner to key in, hence, the need for the bye-laws.
“It is something that we need to workout with the district heads that are part of this meeting, other community leaders and staff of the local governments in other to ensure that we become one of the councils that has overcome the issue of open defecation.
“We do not have anything to confront people like the participants said. But, thank God UNICEF said it is going to assist. So to us, there is need to support the implementation of byelaws whether already existing or we need to the reviewed one.
“Having said that, it will make it easier for those who will implement the contents of the byelaws. So, I will support the issue of by-laws,” Dr Elias said.
