The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, at the weekend in Benin City, Edo State, reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to end open defecation in the country by 2025.
She said the practice with its attendant negative health implications is a war that must be won, noting that government at all levels must join hands to ensure access to improved toilet facilities.
Speaking at the launch of a sensitisation campaign at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Home for the Needy Foundation, Uhogua, Ovia North-East local government area of the State, on the theme, “Clean Nigeria-Use The Toilet”, she lamented that Nigeria still tops global league of countries in which open defecation is prevalent.
Represented by the Director of Social Development, Taiwo Bashorun, the Minister noted that one of the key objectives of the campaign was advancing towards a culture of safe defecation and to end open defecation.
“Additional data presented by UNICEF showed that an estimated 120million people in the country lack access to improved sanitation facilities, or facilities that hygienically separate human waste from human contact.
“Consequently, the Clean Nigeria Campaign was launched on November, 19, 2019 as a national initiative to drive the process towards the attainment of the national target of making Nigeria open defecation free by 2025. This is in accordance with,” she stated.
The Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issue, represented by Taiye Irabor, assured the cooperation and support of the Ministry to the success of the programme in the state.
He also noted that open defecation in public places posed a great health hazard to the environment and as such must be tackled as a social problem.
Also, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, the General Overseer and Founder, International Christian Centre, Home for the Needy, (IDPs Camp), Uhogua, thanked the Federal Government for bring the sensitisation project to the over 3,000 IDPs in the home.
He passionately sought for the support of the federal government in the area of education and food items for the IDPs, adding that some of the students that sat for the last Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination performed excellently.
He said some of the IDPs are currently studying Medicine and Surgery, Law and other courses in various Nigerian Universities.
He said, “We have over 200 of them in different Universities studying Medicine and Surgery, Law and other courses. During the last JAMB examination, the highest person in Nigeria scored 362 and we have persons here that scored 315 and he is 15 years of age.
“Most of them that sat for JAMB here scored over 200. I want the government to pay attention to their education by funding and scholarships. For some time now we have not received any food item from the government, we don’t know if such have been diverted,” he said.
The highlight of the sensitisation and awareness programme was the distribution of dignity kits and presentations by resource persons.
