UNICEF: Only three local govts in Nigeria are free from open defecation
A Water and Sanitation Hygiene specialist, Idrissa Yeo, has stated that only three local governments in the country are free from open defecation.
Yeo stated this on Tuesday in a two-day media dialogue and workshop organized by the Federal Ministry of Information in conjunction with the United Nations Children’s Fund.
He listed the local governments as: Dass in Bauchi State, Obaniku in Cross River State and Warji, also in Bauchi.
The WASH specialist further called on proper sanitation after the use of toilets stressing that a single gramme of faces contains 10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria and a thousand parasites capable of causing serious medical havoc to the individual.
He also pointed out that only 34 schools in Shendam and Riyom Local government in Plateau have access to clean water and sanitation hygiene and he lamented that the absence o water and sanitation have hampered the academic pursuit o as only 11, 138 students (5, 562 girls and 5, 576 boys) have access to water.
Yeo also stated that 40% of people in Plateau practice open defecation and the chief of WASH in Nigeria, Zaid, Jurji, called or government to allow the private sector to take charge of providing water to the populace while government plays the role of a regulatory agency.
