Mohammad Ibrahim
July 24, 2016
(WASH) Specialist in Kaduna State Mrs Theresa Pamma has said 280 hand pump boreholes were constructed and 16 others were rehabilitated under Phase I of Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN I) project in the three Local Government Areas of Kaduna State in Nigeria.
The communities are in Chikun, Kachia and Kubau Local Government Areas of the state.
Pamma stated this at a side line of a two-day mid-year review meeting held in the state.
“As a result, household water safety has improved in the 320 communities, with 220,000 beneficiaries having access to improved water sources.
“The objective of the project is to ensure that children and women have protected access to sufficient safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities,” she said.
The WASH specialist said that the three councils had also implemented local government wide Open Defecation Free (ODF) plans, targeting 2,512 communities.
According to her, 748 communities are targeted for attainment of ODF status, out of which 320 communities were certified ODF within the last six months.
She said that 64 primary schools in the three SHAWN council areas were currently promoting group hand washing using taps innovation.
She said 7,200 pupils in 24 primary schools in the area had access to and utilize child-friendly gender-sensitive WASH facilities.
The specialist said that 71 local government officials and teachers had been trained and had acquired capacity for promotion of hygiene practices and management of school WASH facilities in SHAWN benefiting councils.
“Based on the achievement recorded in the three council areas, eight new councils have been selected to commence the second phase of SHAWN project in the state,’’ she said.
She identified delay in the release of counterpart and operational funds, change in government, dismissal and redeployment of key decision makers and staff verification as major challenges affecting the project.
She said that 84 communities in Chikun, Kachia and Kubau council areas were under security threats, thereby temporarily limiting implementation of intervention programme in the affected areas.
She urged the State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) to liase with the Ministry of Finance to ensure timely release of funds.
Pamma also urged Kaduna state government to conduct training for selected technical officials as supervisors in charge of construction of WASH facilities to improve quality of services.
This is a laudable Project that will impact the lives of the residents of these communities positively. I commend the initiators of this well thought out project.
However, I have been nursing this same project in mind, for residents in some local communities in Delta State, where electricity is in scarce supply.
I will grately appreciate similar sponsorship though with a lesser number of pumps.
This will aid in fighting against Covid- 19 Pandemics in these communities and also provide potable drinking water for residents.