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Dayo Emmanuel
WaterAid Nigeria and Kimberly Clark Corporation have inaugurated a two-year project in Ikorodu North and Ojodu Local Council Development Areas of Lagos State.
The project titled ‘Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Project’ was commissioned in Ikeja, Lagos recently in the presence of top government dictionaries, stakeholders of the target communities and members of the civil society.
Country Director of WaterAid Nigeria, Mr. Ukeme Essien at the event, however shed lights on the project.
“The Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Project is expected to reach 45,000 people with improved sanitation and hygiene services over the two years and will focus on healthcare facilities and key community touch points with particular attention to the health and wellbeing of women, children and school age girls,” he explained.
Essien continued that, “Nursing mothers and children are especially vulnerable in terms of poor hygiene and lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation.
“Uncleanliness and infections are a major contributors to the maternal mortality and the containment of environmental hygiene.”
Chairman of one of the target councils, Honourable David Odunmbaku at the event was elated that his constituency was among those to benefit from the project.
Odunmbaku said, “The gesture will afford the good citizens of Ojodu LCDA the opportunity to enjoy the benefits such as hygiene kits, hand washing facilities in public places such as community health centres, schools etc.”
He also stated that, “The project is in tandem with the program of the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the impact of this intervention will go a long way in boosting our commitment and morale to do more for our people.”
It is also expected that the project which will run for two years will also facilitate maternal and child health by improving hygiene behaviours among vulnerable populations.
The Council Chairman sourcing from article 16 of the Sustainable Development Goal, said, “The United Nations seeks to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation for all by focusing on sustainable water management system.”
Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, who was represented at the event by Engr. Mahmood Adegbite, congratulated the two LCDAs piloting the project.
“On behalf of the Honourable Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, I congratulate the two LCDAs. Also, today would not have been possible without the support of Mr. Governor who gave the go ahead. I also like to thank our sponsors and partners for the gesture,” Adegbite said.
Continuing, Adegbite said hygiene was one major lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You will agree with me that one of the lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic was hygiene, that is the number one lesson. This project entails dissemination of information on hygiene and we want to domesticate everything we do on this project,” he said.
Delivering the main lecture at the event, event, Nanbam Joseph from WaterAid, Nigeria, enlightened participants on the project.
“This project will not provide water but it will rehabilitate water facilities where it had been before,” Joseph said.
She also said the project will focus on communities in the two chosen LCDAs and campaign on hygiene and against open defecation.
“We will do a lot of campaign around hand washing, it is a community thing and in the aporoach, 99 percent is a failure because if only one person fails to observe hand washing after defecation, it can infect others who did.
“Everybody will need to have a toilet, because in open defecation, there are house flies and other rodents that can serve as contaminants, so we will provide hand washing facilities in the communities, schools and rehabilitate toilet facilities.
“On the project, we will discuss with school girls and their teachers on menstrual hygiene. We want our girls to see menstrual hygiene as normal, we want them to have a corner where they can wash themselves when they are menstruating.
“We will also teach the girls the importance and dangers of menstrual hygiene, how it can cause urinal track infections, hitching and other ailments because these are things if not taken care of that can cause infertility problems in the future,” she explained.
Story by Dayo Emmanuel.
