WaterAid with the support of Kimberly- Clark Corporation has rehabilitated 34 dysfunctional toilet facilities and hand washing stations at some Primary Health Care centers and schools in Lagos State.
The Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria, Evelyn Mere, disclosed this at the End of Project Ceremony of the WaterAid, Kimberly-Clark Sanitation Hygiene Improvement Project (SHIP) on Friday in Lagos.
Mere was represented at the event by Kolawole Banwo. Head of Advocacy, Strategy and Communication, WaterAid.
Mere said that over the last two years, WaterAid, with funding from Kimberly-Clark Corporation has been working with the government and people of Lagos State to implement the Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Project (SHIP) in Ikorodu North and Ojodu Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
She said that the project focused on improving health outcomes in target communities of the two LCDAs through the provision of decent toilets and handwashing stations complemented with hygiene promotion, specifically targeted at pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
‘WaterAid is proud of the milestones and achievements recorded under the project.
“This is a demonstration of what commitment and partnership can achieve in the bid to transform lives by making clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene a normal part of daily life for everyone everywhere.
“Through this intervention, WaterAid with support from Kimberly-Clark rehabilitated 34 dysfunctional toilet facilities and handwashing stations at primary healthcare centres and schools within Lagos State.
“As part of the project objectives to strengthen systems, we established and trained Water Sanitation and Hygiene Committee (WASHCOM) members as local resources to maintain the facilities provided.
” Also in schools, we established Environmental Health Clubs, which are currently part of extra-curricular activities in 40 schools within the state,” Mere said.
The country director explained that to realize the project’s goals of increasing awareness of state hygiene behavior practices among pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as children, WaterAid undertook hygiene behavior change campaigns using its ABCDE approach aimed at changing the setting of people’s mind through cues, games and takeaways to encourage the practice of good hygiene.
“We are proud to see that hygiene behavior change campaigns have been incorporated into ante-natal session within the healthcare centers where we intervened,” Mere said
She said that the donor aid agency expressed it’s gratitude to everyone who has worked and supported them in no small measure to see to the success of the project.
“We are particularly grateful to the Chairmen of Ikorodu North and Ojodu LCDAs for their receptiveness and support throughout the implementation of this project.
“We thank them more especially for their committing to sustain the outcomes of this project which are contained in the resolutions that I understand may be signed at some point during the meeting.
“WaterAid acknowleges and commends the Lagos State Government for its support from the inception of the project and urge that they replicate this to increase access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
“I include this message by stating that whereas this project is ending, our work in Lagos State is not, and that our intervention in these two LCDAs is actually just beginning as there is still so much we can achieve together.
“I enjoin the leadership of the LCDAs to demonstrate commitment by sustaining the gains of this project so that all subsequent outcomes will be incremental until we achieve universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene in both LCDAs,” Mere added.
