70,000 Nigerians die yearly from waterborne diseases, as USAID launches new service to tackle menace

By YANGE IKYAA

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a new Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) service to improve water resource management, increase access to proper sanitation, and encourage good hygiene behaviors in Nigeria’s northwestern states of Sokoto and Kebbi.

The two-year initiative, which is worth $2 million and is called iWASH, will rehabilitate water points, construct new solar-powered boreholes, build latrines and handwashing stations, and install an innovative new online remote surveillance system known as PumpView.

According to UNICEF, fewer than 40 percent of Sokoto and Kebbi residents have access to reliable basic water and sanitation services, and up to 70,000 Nigerians die from preventable waterborne diseases a year.

USAID’s improved sustainability of integrated WASH services (iWASH) is expected to help state agencies reduce water-borne diseases and associated socio-economic challenges through an innovative, integrated approach, focusing on improving access to WASH services in health centers, schools, and underserved communities.

“This activity will help Kebbi and Sokoto States provide better community WASH services and contribute to improved health outcomes,” Amarachi Obinna-Nnadi, USAID Development Outreach and Communications Specialist, said at the launch ceremony for iWASH in Abuja.

In addition to promoting good watershed management, providing improved water services, the new USAID activity will market and advocate for good hygiene behaviors, such as hand washing before and after eating, properly storing water, and thoroughly cleaning implements for preparing and consuming foodstuff.

USAID is also engaging the Nigerian Green Habitat Initiative (GHI) to manage a coalition of local organizations to improve access to improved water resources management and address broader social determinants for conflicts over scarce water resources. In many cases, these entities are part of the beneficiary communities and extend the reach of local WASH service providers.

iWASH will further help government institutions and communities coordinate sanitation and hygiene processes and water resources management to maintain operation and maintenance of sanitary facilities and engage the private sector through social enterprise marketing to communities that remain vulnerable to the menace of sanitation-related diseases.

“We are happy that the new WASH program will look into cultural orientation of community members and educate them on good sanitation and hygiene practices,” Umar Bature, the Sokoto State commissioner of water resources said, while further assuring that “Sokoto State will provide all the necessary support for iWASH to succeed.”

GHI’s approach to implementing the activity will include a strong focus on equality and non-discrimination to ensure that women and other disadvantaged groups are given the opportunity to equally participate and make significant contributions in reaching the goal of better water and sanitation services and hygienic community behaviors in Sokoto and Kebbi, said Obinna-Nnadi.