WaterAid to Bauchi govt: Develop waste dumping sites to boost sanitation economy, curb disease
WaterAid Nigeria has urged Bauchi State government to urgently develop designated faecal sludge dumping sites to promote sanitation economy and check the outbreak of diseases.
The head of programmes of the organisation, Mr Nanpet Chuktu, made the plea in Bauchi during a stakeholders validation workshop on the assessment of risks along the sanitation service chain organised by the Development Exchange Centre (DEC).
He observed that though the state had allocated sites, delay in developing the identified locations had resulted in indiscriminate disposal of faecal sludge on farms and residential areas around rural communities, despite the hazards this could pose to public health.
Mr Chuktu appealed to ministries, departments and agencies of government vested with WASH activities to enforce regulatory mechanisms that would ensure effective management of the sanitation service chain beginning with containment, emptying, transportation, treatment, disposal and reuse.
“The government should know that there are lots of opportunities in the sanitation economy if properly managed because it can create jobs for toilet business operators (TBOs)”,
“Pit emptiers and farmers and this will help improve the economic wellbeing of the people, keep the environment clean and guarantee good health,” Nanpet Chuktu added.
Earlier, the Executive Director of DEC, Mrs Helen Abah, said her NGO was involved in sanitation financing for years but regretted that recovery of loans remained a herculean task, assuring that DEC would continue to encourage households to construct improved toilets to halt open defecation.
Mrs Helen Abah called for practical action to strengthen sanitation activities by ensuring that disposal sites become fully operational in the pilot local government areas of Jama’are, Misau and Tafawa-Balewa (LGA), where the Sustainable Hygiene and Sanitation for All (SHF) project is being implemented in Bauchi State.
