Aliyu Dangida
23 July 2008
Lagos — JIGAWA State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) will embark on the construction of about 50,000 toilets in all villages and towns across the state under the United Nation Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with a view to curtailing or reducing water-borne diseases in the state.
Managing Director of the agency, Abbas Adamu Taura an engineer made this known in his office at Shuwarin in the state capital, that his agency has already entered into an agreement with the local government councils for the successful take off of the projects, few among them were Gwiwa, Gagarawa, Kafin Hausa and Gwaram, adding that by the year 2020, each household in village hamlets, settlements and huts are expected to have recommended toilet.
Abbas Taura explained that their greatest challenge was poor sanitation which causes water borne diseases, like typhoid, malaria, diarrhoea as a result of open defecation pointing out that it was the major threat that has devastating effect in causing death of children especially in the rural settings.
The Managing Director cited an instance where, a "woman goes to toilet, when she comes out, she would not care to wash her hands with soap and may possibly breast fed a child or use the hands to give food. In that situation, she could contact diseases that can cause the death of her kid."
He further said that was why the United Nations has declared the 2008 international water day as the year of sanitation, adding that his agency was established for the purpose of community participation in the provision of water for sustainable development.
According to him, the agency, in collaboration with MDGs programme, has attained 50 per cent in terms of provision in the rural areas, saying further that there were over 5,000 hand pumps of United Nations standard scattered across the state, adding that how to involve the benefiting communities to maintain the facilities was their pre-occupation.
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