Traditional leaders in Ganye Local Government Area of Adamawa have pledged to sanction residents engaging in open defecation to improve sanitation and healthcare outcomes.
The District Head of Gurumpawo, Alhaji Hammantukur Gisilanbe, gave the assurance in an interview with newsmen during a field visit on access to safe water under the Accelerated Sanitation and Water for All (ASWA III) project on Friday in Ganye.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is funded by the Government of the Netherlands and implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) through Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) units.
Hammantukur said the intervention had helped residents to appreciate the importance of household latrines in curbing open defecation.
‘Initially, our people had the culture of defecating outside, polluting the environment which causes diseases to children and households, but with the introduction of latrines, the situation has greatly improved.
‘We are making bylaws on this issue. This is important because our people have stayed long defecating outside, so we are gradually enforcing sanctions against offenders.
‘There are different punishments meted to offenders based on their status, whether civil servants, business owners or residents, while stubborn violators may be reported to the police’, he said.
He commended the WASH programme, noting that improved access to potable water had reduced disease burden and hospital expenses in the community.
Similarly, the District Head of Sankom, Kabiru Jailani said the project had improved child wellbeing, health outcomes and school attendance.
Jailani said most households now had latrines, adding that monitoring teams had been established to ensure compliance.
He said the community now benefited from a solar-powered borehole, assuring that measures were in place to ensure proper maintenance.
Jailani added that residents who defecate openly or vandalise water facilities would be reported to relevant authorities and fined.
Executive Secretary of Primary Healthcare Authority, Ganye, Jared Gangkuba said government and partners had intensified WASH sensitisation across communities.
‘WASH has been a blessing for us. In the last two years, we applied for ASWA II project which was granted and staff sensitised people in 150 communities.
‘Currently, we are working in an additional 150 communities, bringing the total to 300 benefiting communities, including schools through clubs and societies’, he said.
Gangkuba added that the local government was gradually becoming open-defecation-free in practice.
Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique said collaboration with the Adamawa Government had improved sanitation and water supply in benefiting communities.
Rafique said the interventions would improve the health status of residents, particularly women and children.
‘We are happy to see traditional leaders and other stakeholders working together to achieve this success’, she said.
Rafique added that the interventions would enhance outcomes within the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, including antenatal care, exclusive breastfeeding, nutrition and immunisation.
