The Federal Capital Territory Administration in collaboration with other stakeholders in water and sanitation agencies have hit the ground running to tackle open defecation through the construction of ten thousand public toilets in strategic areas across the territory.
Performing the groundbreaking ceremony in Abuja, the Minister of State for FCT, Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu who said the construction of the toilets would help to curb the 37% prevalence of open defecation in the FCT, encouraged all residents to put the facilities to good use when completed.
Dr Aliyu said in 2014, Nigeria embarked on an ambitious 5-year mission to eliminate open defecation nation-wide, building millions of toilets and aiming to change the behaviour of millions of Nigerians.
According to the Minister, one in every three persons in FCT practices open defecation, amounting to approximately 37 percent of the population.
Dr Aliyu, therefore, directed RUWASSA and all stakeholders to accelerate actions and efforts aimed at making FCT open defecation free in the shortest possible time.
The minister said; “On November 9, 2021, the FCT Administration launched an action plan targeted at ending open defecation by 2025. The plan involves providing equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services and strengthening community-led approaches to total sanitation”.
The Minister of State for FCT was emphatic that access to adequate potable water and improved sanitation and hygiene practices, play important roles in defining the human capital development of a nation.
She said the FCT Administration would continue to support and encourage private sector collaboration and participation in the provision of public conveniences in the territory.
Aliyu commended the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, UNICEF, WaterAid, Lixil Corporation, USAID, JICA and other Development Partners for supporting and collaborating with the FCT Administration to end open defecation before the year 2025.
On his part, Permanent Secretary FCTA, Mr. Olusade Adesola, who was represented by a director in his office, Prospect Ibe, said the FCT Administration has drawn up a road map to end open defecation in the territory by the year 2025, in line with national target and vision.
Also, the Executive Director FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Dr. Mohammed Dan-Hassan, noted that clean and safe toilets would ensure fundamental human dignity for millions of residents, prevent the spread of diseases that threaten the security of women and girls, and contribute to malnutrition.
The Emir of Jiwa, Alhaji Idriss Musa who pledged to carry the campaign against open defecation to his followers, cautioned against indiscriminate dumping of excrement and other wastes on gutters.
Reporting by Remi Johnson, editing by Daniel Adejo.