FG to celebrate open defecation-free LGA

NAN-AE-50
Celebration
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, April 6, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government, in partnership with United Purpose, an NGO, will on Friday, celebrate the attainment of the first open defecation-free Local Government in Obanliku, Cross River.

The Obanliku Local Government was on 2016 declared open defecation-free after meeting all the requirements, as stipulated in the protocol for certification of open defecation-free communities.

Mr Nanpet Chuktu, RUSHPIN Programme Manager, in a statement on Thursday, said the activities would be followed by the Programme Coordinating Mechanism meeting to review proposals for action in other council areas.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Obanliku Local Government is benefiting from the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) programme, being sponsored by the Global Sanitation Fund.

Chuktu said within four years of programme implementation, 1,859 communities had been reached with hygiene messages.

According to him, no fewer than 600,000 people now live in open defecation-free communities in the six Local Government Areas.

He said that the agency used Community Led-Total Sanitation (CLTS) model to encourage the communities to build and use toilets while adopting behavioural change as a means of promoting hygienic habits.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, representatives of Cross River Government and development partners, are expected to grace the occasion. (NAN)
TAK/MOL/YEMI
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Yemi Idris-Aduloju