FG Commits To Ending Open Defecation, Cites Link To Cholera Epidemic

Wary of the rapid spread of cholera across the country, causing high morbidity and mortality, the federal government has commenced measures to combat the epidemic by tackling the root causes, including open defecation.

Accordingly, Vice President Kashim Shettima has stated the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu‘s commitment to ending open defecation by 2025.

The vice president spoke yesterday when he inaugurated the Steering Committee for the “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet“ Campaign at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

In a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, he said that ending open defecation can be achieved by mobilising strategic stakeholders leveraging technology and deploying innovative and sustainable solutions to boost the nation‘s sanitation landscape.

Shettima, who underscored the significance of hygiene, health, and its impact on development and wealth, urged the committee to “align with broader government priorities and interventions in areas such as poverty reduction, education, and economic growth.” The VP said the recently reported cases of cholera in the country should serve as sufficient motivation for the committee to work harder. He directed members of the committee to craft solutions to handle wastewater management, contaminated water sources, and open defecation across the country.

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Shettima also expressed confidence that team members will commit to research-driven approaches to make the nation clean.

“We are well aware that achieving this objective begins with our collective resolve to embrace behavioural change and cultivate a lifestyle that prioritises proper sanitation practices, hygiene education, and community engagement,“ he added.

He stressed that the country‘s goals and aspirations could be best achieved by harnessing the resources available in the public and private sectors, especially by conducting innovative research.

The public sector cannot succeed in this campaign unless we engage and encourage private sector participation and invite innovative and sustainable solutions.

We must partner by utilising technology for real-time monitoring, data collection, and impact assessment while recognising the role of youth and women in driving change,“ the VP emphasised.

Aside from its core mandate, the Vice President tasked the committee to be vigilant in its assignment, especially „as we develop solutions to the devastations of climate change, urbanisation, and population growth“, noting that „we have become ambassadors of a cause that seeks to restore the health and dignity of our people“.

The meeting, which is the fifth since the flag-off of the Clean Nigeria Campaign in 2019, provides a forum to review the country‘s progress so far.

Earlier, the coordinating minister of health and social welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, recalled that in the bid to tackle the Cholera epidemic, which he said is ravaging the country in 33 states, with 2,000 cases and 33 deaths, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its last meeting, also commissioned a cabinet committee to deal with the issue.

He said, „That cabinet committee comprises Water, Education, Environment, Aviation, and almost all the relevant ministries. Open defecation is part of the drivers of this Cholera outbreak that we are seeing. But we also have a good example of a sub-national unit doing very well in Jigawa State, which has been declared open defecation-free.

That is a good example showing that sub-national units can help us address this issue. So, we really appreciate your leadership and commit ourselves to supporting this effort so that we can end open defecation in Nigeria,“ he said.

Presenting the report on ‚Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign‘, the minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, said the report covers both challenges and successes since its establishment in 2016 and was inaugurated and signed into law in 2019.

According to him, the campaign is a transformative initiative to eradicate open defecation in Nigeria in the year 2025, noting that the campaign was aimed at getting all stakeholders to join and tackle open defecation, which currently ranked Nigeria as the second largest country that practices open defecation in the world, next to India.