A report by Water Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping 2021, WASHNORM, indicates that about 5,020,920 residents, representing 53.7 percent of the 9349,944, population in Oyo State, practice open defecation, while about 3,621,520, representing 43 percent use unimproved toilet facilities.
The reasons above support the report that Oyo State has the highest number of people still practicing open defecation in South West, Nigeria.
Wash Specialist, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Monday Johnson, at a 2-day media dialogue on Open Defecation Free (ODF) in South West States, Nigeria, in Oyo State, ” expressed dismay that, defecating indiscriminately has led to disease outbreaks like cholera and hundreds of under-five deaths, reduced school attendance, stunting, wasting, malnutrition, poor productivity and loss of GDP “.
Obafemi Titilayo, Director of Sanitation, Oyo RUWASSA, attributes the worrisome situation of WASH in Oyo State to poor hygiene culture; inadequate facilities, inadequate skilled personnel, and poorly motivated Local Government Area WASH department staff.
According to her, unserviceable and inadequate basic WASH facilities and equipment such as drilling rigs, sewage disposal trucks, and vehicles for monitoring and supervision, posed a huge challenge in achieving the desired objective.
Other factors are ” low on basic office equipment; poorly sensitized wash stakeholders, including LG officials and community heads, on the new National Policy on Water Supply and Sanitation including non-availability of wash account in almost all the LGAs as well as lack of interest by some council authority on wash programs “. Titlayo said.
To change the narrative the director stated that the state government, with support from UNICEF developed and launched the roadmap of ending Open defecation by 2028.
It is on record that the sum of N80 million was pooled by the state government and unicef for the implementation of the Sanitation Revolving Fund SRF at a single-digit interest rate of nine percent to households for sanitation facilities construction, to create increasing access to sanitation and hygiene.
As it stands, 854 communities (Egbeda LGA-480 and Ona Ara LGA-378) have been triggered and are being monitored for ODF in 14 wards (eight in Egbeda and six in Ona Ara) Local government areas, LGAs. The two LGAs have 22 wards with about 1,285 communities.
404 communities are claiming ODF and ready for certification (Egbeda 254 and Ona Ara 150); 12 Toilet Business Owners and 36 masons have been trained and actively constructing household toilets across the triggered wards of the two LGAs which have seen 473 toilets constructed.
Before now, a six-compartment model toilet (three for males and three for females) was built in a public primary school in Egbeda LGA through the collaborative efforts of the state and UNICEF.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, noted with regret that since Nigeria has taken over from Egypt, Oyo State, before 2027, will ensure there is a marked improvement in that regard.
” We are very happy and encouraged by what UNICEF is doing, by putting the step forward in collaboration with the state, to ensure that not only open defecation but indeed all other forms of diseases that are plaguing humankind are reduced to the nearest “. Commissioner
” Plans are afoot to ensure that people are discouraged from doing all these, first through the radio, through jingles, billboards, newspaper adverts, and through physical visits, the Ministry of Information will do its best to ensure that we get to everywhere and that this message circulates, adding that, having put the necessary facilities in place and created enough awareness, Oyo residents who go against the law will be prosecuted accordingly “. Oyelade
” Yes, the information has started with the construction of billboards all over the State and at the various junctions and boundaries of Oyo State. Anyone who does not obey the law of good health and the law of social etiquette will be reprimanded. And, this has started in the State, and we are doing something about it “. He stressed
UNICEF WASH Specialist, Dr. Bisi Orebiyi, while applauding the Oyo State government in its effort to eradicate Open defecation by 2028, however, noted that N173,191,198,400 will be needed to finance the sanitation sector from 2022 to 2028.
This amount according to her, comprises N48,665,040,000 contributions from communities for the construction of household latrines and provision of hand washing facilities in the 33 LGAs.
” The sum of N103,915,000,000 is required in the construction of institutional latrines and hand washing facilities in public and private schools, public and private health facilities, markets, and motor parks, also, N15,744,654,400 is needed for support services for advocacy, campaigns, community mobilization, capacity building of state and LGAs officials and communities as well as monitoring and evaluation “. Orebiyi
He however called on the government to give more attention to wash Programmes at all levels and funds should be released to procure all necessary wash equipment and facilities.
Discover more from Radio Nigeria Lagos
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
