Ekiti Leads In Open Defecation In Nigeria - Health

Ekiti State is believed to have the highest of persons who openly defecate in Nigeria About 1.8 million residents of the state out of a total population of 2.7 million is believed to engage in the menace.

In her presentation, a Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) facilitator and a staff of Rural Water Sanitation Agency in the state, Mrs. Lanre Ayeni, said 748 million of the global population, lack access to hygienic water supply.

She added it was so regrettable that 1.8 billion people still use contaminated sources of water, which she said has caused a lot of damage to their health and body systems.

“When you take a water that has contaminated by cheat (faeces), the person will have ten million viruses, one million bacteria and one hundred thousand parasite eggs in her body system.

“Advocacy for open defecation free in Ekiti and good water sanitation is yielding results. Enforcement in the past by CLTS coordinators had failed, what we now use is persuasion and people are gradually changing their perception about this concept.”

Mohsena, who disclosed that several achievements have been recorded through UNICEF/EU WASH programme in Ekiti, using Gbonyin and Ekiti West as pilot councils in advocacy for open defecation Free and WASH, said the two international organisations have been funding the programme and rendering technical supports.

“In Ekiti, an estimated number of 180,000 people are gaining access to good source of water through provision of hand pump boreholes. In the same way, 29,582 people in Ekiti have gained access to safe water through rehabilitation of 65 hand pumps in Gbonyin. 965 pupils from four schools now have access to child and gender friendly water supply.

“We have also bring improvement to 250 towns and communities in ODF by providing ten toilets per public. We have also provided technical supports in 313 communities, for them to know various ways to build and take ownership of low cost latrines and how to repair them in case of damage.

“Stakeholders would continue to step up sensitisation and advocacy in rural areas on the need to key into the total eradication of open defecation, to forestall breakout of diseases.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and European Union (EU) have lamented that over 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation globally, out of which one billion were engaging in open defecation.

They said these at the weekend during a two-day media networking and alliance building workshop on organised by European Union/UNICEF on Water Sanitation and Hygiene and Open Defecation Free campaign held at Ijero Ekiti, Ijero Local Government area of Ekiti State.

The UNICEF/EU delegation, led by Mohsena Islam, a WASH specialist from UNICEF, went on a field trip with Ekiti Media WASH group to Asasa and Temidire Olojofi farm settlements in Aramoko Ekiti, to assess compliance with the campaign against open defecation. CLTS Coordinator in Gbonyin, Mr. Kayode Eleso, said many residents have been arrested and prosecuted for engaged in open defecation, particularly in Ado Ekiti metropolis, while efforts, he said, were also on to compel every household to have their toilets.

He regretted that low manpower in the sector was responsible for the noticeable inefficiency of his officers , saying records show that no staff has been recruited since Ekiti was created on October 1, 1996.”

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