Yemisi Dada
The Lagos State government has commended WaterAid Nigeria for its many interventions in providing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, facilities in different parts of the state coupled with training of its staff to build their capacity to propagate Hygiene Behaviors changes at the grassroots.
Special Adviser to Governor on the Environment, in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Rotimi Akodu, gave the commendation during a media roundtable with the development partner, WaterAid Nigeria to its present achievements of WASH interventions so far in Lagos, held at Alausa
Mr Akodu promised that the state government would leverage the model developed and implemented by WaterAid Nigeria especially in construction of inclusive and female friendly toilets as well as provision of solar powered borehole with large volume of water for Primary Health Centers in all council areas of the state.
“As a Ministry, we are proud of WaterAid Nigeria, they have helped to build the capacity of our staff that is what we call train the trainers, and the beneficiaries will also step down knowledge gained from the WaterAid Nigeria training to other people till it reaches the grassroots to effect the HBC changes in Communities across Lagos.”
Fielding questions from newsmen after reeling out achievements of WaterAid in Lagos so far, the State Program Team lead, Dr Adebayo Alao, said the overall objective of WaterAid Nigeria interventions in Lagos with its funders, was to ensure that over ten million direct and seventeen million indirect residents have access to safe water, hygienically clean toilets and exposure to other key hygiene behaviors for their well being to avoid spread of diseases such as cholera in the state.
Dr Alao who promised that WaterAid will continue to provide WASH interventions in hard to reach areas like Ikorodu North and Ojodu LCDAs based on assessment research done by some private consultants and government to arrive at the choice of locations to benefit from the interventions, with a call on the state government to deploy more resources into its WASH policy implementations to ensure no one is left behind.
“These are some of our achievements since 2021. We have supported the review of the approved WASH Policy for the state. We supported capacity building of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, including a learning visit to
effective regulation of the WASH sector, including a February 2022 Commission for
NWASC0, Zambia. We have supported the technical assessment of waterworks to
support increase in urban water supply. This has led to the ongoing rehabilitation
Akilo waterworks that cost over 800 million naira. We have supported the construction and rehabilitation of community water schemes in
17 communities in Ikorodu North and Ojodu LCDAs to the tune of over 400 million naira. We have supported the rehabilitation/construction of water and sanitation facilities in schools and PHCs in lkorodu, Ojodu, ljegun, Igando, Orile Agege to the tune of over 500 million Naira between 2022 and 2024. We have carried out HBC campaigns and water safety training in 57 communities to
promote healthy living and prevention of cholera. We also distributed aqua tabs and other water-purifying materials during these campaigns.”
“The Governor of Lagos State has established the Lagos Water Partnership, LWP, with the RWA and WaterAid. The LWP brings together public and private partners to specifically look at how to unblock water investment in the city.”
“Partners in Lagos include: Arup, EY, Citi, Diageo, ARM Harith, Chapel Hill Denham, Lagos Stock Exchange, Pension Fund Operators, Nestle, Africa Finance
Corporation, donor governments, AfDB, UNEP, World Bank,” Alao said
On his part, WaterAid Nigeria Head of Advocacy and Communications, Mr Kolawole Banwo, appealed to the media to partner WaterAid in showcasing its human oriented projects which have impacted lives of thousands of residents in its focal LCDAs including Ikorodu North and Ojodu and other locations according to funders interest.
“We need more visibility from the Media, so we urged the fourth estate of the realm to partner WaterAid to report our activities as it invest hugely in the many interventions projects, to enable more people get access to safe water, sanitation and hygienic environment especially in the Primary Health Centers in Lagos.”
The Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, Mr Mahamood Adegbite, as emphasizing that plans are in top gear to end open defecation in Lagos as over twenty five public toilets will be inaugurated before the end of this year.