Minister urges communities to embrace sanitation programme

THE Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, has urged Nigerians to embrace Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to facilitate access to sanitation and hygiene services. Ochekpe made the call in Katsina at the opening of the 3rd National Roundtable Conference on Community-Led Total Sanitation.Represented by Dr Obioha Agada, the Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation, she noted that most Nigerians lacked access to good sanitation and hygiene services.She urged government at all levels to adopt the CLTS approach to ensure improved sanitation and hygiene services to the people.'The nation's sanitation coverage as at 2008 was 32 per cent. Going by this, it means Nigeria is not on track to meeting the MDGs target of achieving 65 per cent coverage on sanitation and hygiene by the year 2015.``Hence, there is the need for all to embrace the CLTS approach. 'Ochekpe said that CLTS would enable members of the community to analyse their respective sanitation situation including the extent, effect and impact of open defecation.She further said that it would also help to change people's attitude to open defecation and stressed the need for government at all levels to promote and support the concept.She commended UNICEF and Katsina State government for collaborating with the ministry to organise the conference.In his remarks, Gov. Ibrahim Shema said that the government had spent more than N5 billion in executing various water and sanitation projects in the last four-and-half years.Shema was represented by Alhaji Jamilu Danmusa, the state Commissioner for Water Resources.He said an NGO, Service to Humanity Foundation, in collaboration with the state water agency, RUWASSA, had constructed sanitation, hygiene and water facilities in selected Islamiyya and Almajiri schools in the state.
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