NEWS: UNICEF stops open defecation in 39 Edo communities

About 39 communities in Ovia South-West and Etsako West local government areas of Edo State have stopped open defecation and have been certified open defecation-free, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has said.
The agency said the feat was achieved through the construction of 2,689 latrines (toilets), providing access to 31,803 (13,358 males and 18,445 females), under its
Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme funded by the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid.

The rural water supply and sanitation project under the Niger Delta Support Programme was implemented by UNICEF with the financial assistance of the European Commission.



The Edo State Consultant of the programme, Aja Aleje, told us that it was an improvement from what was on the ground before the commencement of the exercise for the NDSP, which started in December 2014.

He quoted a baseline survey conducted recently to explain the deplorable situation on ground before the commencement of the project.

“Of the 62.7 per cent of households across the two local government areas that have latrines, only 17.6 per cent can be classified to be improved latrines. Also, 20.7 per cent practise hand washing after defecating. 19.3 per cent of households suffer from water and sanitation diseases in the last three months as of the time of the survey. Generally, the sanitation situation, according to the survey report is very poor,” Aleje said.

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