Ahead of this year’s World Toilet Day, the Lagos State government in partnership with an NGO WaterAid Nigeria, has held an advocacy road show to sensitize residents of Agbede Olosugbo in Ikorodu North LCDA.
The World Toilet Day commemorated annually on November 19 has this year’s theme as “We’ll Always Need the Toilet”.
Speaking of the essence of the advocacy ahead of tomorrow, representative of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Olugbenga Fagbolade, said sanitation remains a human right despite global challenges.
According to him, this year’s theme highlights the need for urgent action to protect and expand access to safely managed sanitation in a changing world, which is being impacted by issues like aging infrastructure, rising demand, climate change, and growing inequality.
He implored residents to always ensure the use of clean toilets and desist from dislodging waste water on public roads and drainages which could lead to outbreak of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
“Without clean, safe toilets and assurance of safe transport and treatment, human waste can contaminate communities’ food and water sources, which increases people’s chances of getting sick.
When people don’t have access to a toilet, they go outside in the open called open defecation” he said
Earlier, WaterAid Nigeria Team lead, Lagos Program, Dr Adebayo Alao, said the campaign aims to promote the development of “future-ready” sanitation systems that are inclusive, accessible, and resilient.
Dr Alao represented by Sanitation and Hygiene Officer, Mr Dare Oduluyi, stressed that unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene are responsible for the deaths of one thousand children under five years, annually and called for attitudinal change from residents and political will from government to attain the SDG goal 6 of open defecation free Lagos by year 2030.
“If every person had access to a safe, resilient toilet, we could save thousands of lives every year and build the foundations for a more peaceful and prosperous world.
We need toilets for everyone, everywhere.
No matter how the world alters, some things will never change, the need for toilets is one of them” he maintained
Appreciating the gesture, CDC Chairman, Agbede nine communities, Alhaji Rasheed Usman, commended the Lagos State government and WaterAid for using their communities as the pilot scheme for projects to eradicate open defecation in Lagos and promised to uphold the ethics of the five behaviorial changes of WASH to improve sanitation and protect the water facilities provided for them.
Residents and government officials on the roadshow distributed WASH educational materials and displayed placards with inscriptions such as Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet, Say No to Open defecation, We will always need the toilet, use well managed toilet, among others.
Multi agency of the Lagos government which included KAI, LASTMA, LAWMA, Taskforce, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and Environmental Health, Sanitation Officers, participated in the World Toilet Day celebration in Ikorodu North LCDA
On its part, WaterAid Nigeria with its Development partners which included Microsoft, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, DP World, DGBP supported and funded the Lagos State government initiative to educate its over twenty five million residents to achieve United Nations SDG goal 6.
Reporting by Yemisi Dada