Ministry to construct toilets in motor parks
NAN-HG-4
Toilets
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, Dec. 13, 2016 (NAN) The Federal Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday said measures were on to construct toilet facilities in all major transport hubs and parks to reduce increasing rate of open defecation in the country.
Mr Emmanuel Awe, the Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation in the ministry, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that this would help in reducing preventable deaths from poor hygiene and sanitation.
He said the ministry was already working to ensure that Nigeria meets its targets of scaling up sanitation and hygiene through the launch of the Partnership for Extended Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) Programme.
“The political will is highest now in recent times, the ministry is working very hard to see that sanitation and hygiene is scaled up in the country.
“The Federal Government will like to see that we achieve universal access to water supply, sanitation and hygiene by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demands.
“The Federal Government is also looking into providing these facilities in all the major transport hubs and parks; so we believe that all churches and mosques will equally provide such facilities for their congregation.
“The ministry is ready to scale up fast, we will do that with respect to funds availability,” he said.
The director added that there was the need for all stakeholders to develop simple, better, cost effective messages that will enable more Nigerians change their behaviours towards hygiene promotion.
NAN recalls that the minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, had said that the PEWASH programme was designed to be a national collaborative instrument between all stakeholders, including the government at all levels, developmental partners and the private sector.
“PEWASH is said to be a multisector collaborative platform that is expected to harness more synergy between the government agencies and international institutions to improve access to water supply, sanitation and hygiene in rural areas in Nigeria,” the minister said.
Adamu noted that the initiative is expected to run as a 15-year programme, and that it is divided into three phases.
He was hopeful that upon full implementation of the programme, the ministry would have achieved 100 per cent access to improved water supply and zero per cent open defecation in Nigeria. (NAN)
TAK/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola