UNICEF Select 9 LGAs In Jigawa To Fight Open Defecation

Umar Akilu Majeri

The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICE,  and the Jigawa state Environmental Protection Agency (JISEPA)  are collaborating to fight open defecation in Jigawa state.

As a result, that UNICEF has selected nine local government areas out of the 27 local government areas of the state for sensitisation and cleaning of public toilets in the state.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director, JISEPA, Engineer Lawan Ahmed in an exclusive interview with our reporter in his office.

Lawan said ,the selected local government to pilot the projects include Dutse, Ringim, Jahun, Hadejia, Auyo, Guri, others include Malam Madori, Birniwa and Kirikasamma kasamma local government area .

He explained further that the public convenience toilets in all the local government are 31 in number in which Dutse has four, Ringim four, Jahun four, and  Guri also four.

The remaining councils are Birniwa with three,  Kiri kasamma has two and Auyo also two and Hadejia is having the highest number with five selected public convenience toilets selected for a pilot phase of the programe.

The Managing Director explained that due to poor hygiene, one public convenience toilet was closed down at Malam Madori markets in Hadejia Emirate by JISEPA officials during the exercise.

He added that UNICEF will reclaim all the public toilets in the state by sensitising the owners of the nine selected LGAs in the state.

“Our plan in this programme will be comprehensive across the 27 local government areas in the state by cleaning all the public toilets at motor parks and others within the markets communities in the state.

He said of this pilot project, UNICEF is responsible for all financial supports to JISEPA staff who currently are doing the work, he explained that after completion of the project, the projects would be handed over to JISEPA for continuation to complete the remaining eighteen local government areas in the state.

He assured that JISEPA very soon will introduce a programme tagged keep Jigawa state clean which will start from this month to end up in May 2022.

He stated that to address all the major challenges that disturb the people in the state during the rainy season, especially the issue of malaria and typhoid, they will repair both manual and motorized mosquito spraying machines that will enable them to do the work across the 27 local government areas of the state.

He explained that farmers in the state at different locations are benefiting from refuse evacuating out of town using the refuses as local fertilizers in their farmlands free of charge.