Suspension
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, March 27, 2018 (NAN) The UK Agency for International Development (UKAID) has lifted the suspension of funding for its Community-Led Health Improvement through Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (CHISHPIN) programme in Cross River.
Mr Nanpet Chuktu, Programme Manager, United Purpose, the executing agency for the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF), disclosed this at a Programme Coordinating Mechanism (PCM) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, CHISHPIN is a three-year project targeted at increasing access to sanitation and hygiene, with the aim of reducing diarrhoea prevalence, especially in under-five children.
He said that the key target was to ensure that people changed from using basic latrine to improved latrine, while washing their hands with soap or ash at critical times and living in open defecation-free environment.
Chuktu said that the programme, which targeted Biase, Yala and Ikom Local Government Areas in the state, was expected to reach 774,354 people.
He said that the programme was designed to use the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach.
NAN reports that the programme, with a project grant of 1.6 million pounds (about N640 million), began in November 2015 and is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) under the UKAID direct impact window.
“Part of the reasons why the programme funding was suspended by UKAID is the Cross River Government’s refusal to co-fund the project.
“The state government’s co-finance of this programme was part of the agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the beginning of the programme implementation.
“We are however happy to announce that the agency has lifted the suspension of activities in the three local governments in the state,” he said.
Chuktu noted that suspension of the programme had affected behavioural change among the communities, while leading to drawback and poor motivation among workers and project facilitators.
He noted that the five-month suspension had resulted in loss of time, with civil society organisations withdrawing services at the local government areas.
He noted that with the resumed operation of the programme, communities had now shown innovative approaches to scaling up sanitation and hygiene.
He said that the group was also involving traditional rulers so as to win back the confidence of communities towards the overall success of the CHISPIN programme.
Earlier, the PCM Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Awe, who was represented by Mr Emmanuel Eze, said that it was saddening that the state government refused to pay counterpart funding for the sanitation project.
He said that this had constituted a drawback to efforts to scale up sanitation and hygiene in the country.
Awe pledged the Federal Government’s commitment to promoting programmes and policies that impacted positively on the lives of all Nigerians.
Ms Ebele Okeke, Nigeria’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene Ambassador, underscored the need to carry persons with disabilities along in all sanitation and hygiene promotion programmes so as to attain an inclusive society.
She said that the role advocacy plays in programme implementation could not be overemphasised, as concerted efforts should be made to scale up sanitation and hygiene in the country.
Ms Priscilla Achakpa, National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council Nigeria, said that Ondo, Ogun and Sokoto states had shown interest in the GSF programme.
According to her, there is the need for all tiers of government to show commitment towards scaling up sanitation and hygiene in the country by increasing funding for the programme.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Programme Coordinating Mechanism is the body responsible for monitoring the activities of Global Sanitation Fund in Benue and Cross River. (NAN)
TAK/MOL/OOK
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Edited by Mustapha Lamidi and Dayo Komolafe