Stakeholders including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oyo State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), among others, have brainstormed on how to ensure that every nook and cranny of the state is free from Open Defecation (OD).
Speaking at the event, the UNICEF WASH Manager, Jolly Ann Maulit, said the World Toilet Day is more than just an observance, but a global call to action, noting that the theme underlined the reality that open defecation remained a risk for billions of people worldwide, as it has a direct impact on health, education, and poverty alleviation outcomes.
To achieve the feat, the stakeholders called for collective action and partnerships to tackle the growing challenges of OD at a stakeholders’ meeting to mark the 2024 World Toilet Day with the theme: “Toilet: A Place of Peace.”
She said, “According to UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, Nigeria is third among 163 countries where children are most vulnerable to climate-related risks and hazards. This is so because sanitation facilities that are not climate resilient break down quickly and are not usually rehabilitated on time, leading to people resorting to open defecation.
“We need government political commitment, budget releases, partnerships with the private sector, philanthropists and NGOs, social mobilisation, and youth involvement in hygiene and sanitation promotion to end open defecation in Oyo State.”
Earlier, the Chairman of RUWASSA, Mr Babalola Afobaje, said the agency will continue to take proactive actions, through the support of government and UNICEF, to ensure availability of water and toilet at every strategic location in the state.
Babalola noted that special attention has been placed on public places such as markets, motor parks and worship centres.
He said, “Through the support of the state government and UNICEF, some local government areas are becoming open defecation free.”
The guest lecturer, Prof. Elizabeth Oloruntoba of the Department of Health Sciences, University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, said excreta contains pathogens responsible for many diseases.
Oloruntoba warned that when faeces of infected persons get into the environment it could go through routes like water, flies and handshakes to cause problem for another person.
She called on government, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to work together by ensuring that people have access to quality sanitation.
On his part, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment, Mr Ademola Aderinto, expressed confidence in achieving the state’s target of becoming open defecation-free by 2028, citing recent progress in sanitation efforts.
The highpoint of the event was the decoration of state WASH ambassadors, champions, and advocates, and presentation of award certificates to winning schools in WASH competitions.
Comments are closed.