Develop waste dumping sites to promote sanitation, WaterAid charges Bauchi govt

WaterAid Nigeria has urged the Bauchi State Government to urgently develop designated faecal sludge dumping sites to promote the sanitation economy and curb the outbreak of diseases.

The Head of Programmes of the organisation, Mr Nanpet Chuktu, made the appeal 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 although the state had allocated sites, delays in developing the identified locations had led to the indiscriminate disposal of faecal sludge on farmlands and in residential areas across rural communities, despite the public health hazards this poses.

Mr Chuktu appealed to ministries, departments and agencies of government responsible for 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.

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“The government should know that there are many opportunities in the sanitation economy if it is properly managed, as it can create jobs for toilet business operators (TBOs), pit emptiers and farmers. This will help improve the economic wellbeing of the people, keep the environment clean and guarantee good health,” Chuktu added.

Earlier, the Executive Director of DEC, Mrs Helen Abah, said the NGO had been involved in sanitation financing for years but regretted that loan recovery remained a herculean task. She assured that DEC would continue to encourage households to construct improved toilets to halt open defecation.

Mrs 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, where the Sustainable Hygiene and Sanitation for All (SHF) project is being implemented in Bauchi State.