Bauchi gov. charges LGs on comprehensive sanitation

From Ahmad Mohammed, Bauchi

Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has directed the conduct of comprehensive sanitation exercises across all the 20 local governments of the state.
The directive is in compliance with the national campaign ‘clean Nigeria; Use the toilets’ aimed at delivering open defecation free Nigeria by 2025.
Governor Bala gave the directive yesterday at the lunching of clean family campaign organized by the state Ministry of Water Resources, Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) with support from WaterAid Nigeria held at Kirfi local government area of the state as part of the commemoration of this year’s global hand washing day.
Represented by the Commissioner of Water Resources, Umar Sanda Adamu, the governor explained that the special sanitation exercise began in June this year.
He said although the campaign was lunched in Kirfi Local Government Area, the lessons learned should be replicated in all other local governments of the state.
Bala said that about 3.9 million people in the state lack access to water, sanitation and hygiene services assured that his administration is committed to creating institutional frameworks, partnerships and collaboration with a view to accelerating the access to the services quickly.
Also speaking, the country director WaterAid Nigeria Dr Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye represented by the technical lead Water, Sanitation and Hygiene of the organization Adebayo Alao, opined that non access to water, sanitation and hygiene services by many citizens of the state is what contributes to the continuous outbreaks of diseases like cholera and Lassa fever.
“In 2018, the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPHCDA) reported that 9, 275 cholera cases resulting in the deaths of 28 people were recorded. We cannot continue to let this happen as a people,” She said.