The child rights bureau( crib) of the federal ministry of information and national orientation in collaboration with UNICEF organises a media tour and dialogue on water sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services for selected health facilities and schools in jigawa state.
Officer in – charge of communication advocacy and partnership section UNICEF Nigeria, Suzan Akila said that said that jigawa state has been declared open defecation free and to maintain the statisquo all hands has to be all deck in ensuring that the state maintains it’s position.
She said that the media tour was to access the wash facilities functionality as some gaps were sighted in some schools and health facilities.
Akila said having attain the open defecation free gaps were meet in terms of not having hand washing point in some health facilities while some toilets are shared between male female pupils in the school.
Fortunately for us women we have season that we are blessed with we need privacy, in those moments we require to have our space that we can clean up, same time when those things are not available, we can say this makes enrollment and retention of girls in the school can be an issue”, she stated.
Shedding more light on the event the communication advocacy and partnership co-ordinator said that the Wash survey of 2021 shows that in Nigeria only 11% of schools have basic wash facilities while 6% in health facilities.
She said that UNICEF priorities is to ensure that children and women who are more vulnerable have access to clean sanitary environment so as not to be exposed to sickness and diseases at all times.
On his part the Subeb Chairman jigawa state professor Haruna Musa pledge his commitment in ensuring that by 2030 basic schools amounting to a total of 3,346 will have 8,689 functional toilet facilities across the state.
He said that the JIGAWA SUBEB under the administration of the executive governor of JIGAWA state is currently under going construction of wash facilities in some schools.
Representative of the the jigawa state Executive Governor, technical advisor to the state Governor Dr Hauwa Mustapha said the development partners and media office all that has been discussed will be convene as when next they come they will see a tremendous difference.
Some journalists when interviewed said that the wash facilities monitored in the schools and health facilities were impressive as there were adequate solar powered water supply in the premises and the environment well sanitized then call on the state government to sustain the intervention as this will attract more enrollment and retention of girls into schools.