The United Nation Children Education Funds UNICEF in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Water Resources has presented certificates to fourteen local government areas in Jigawa state for being Open Defecation Free.
Speaking at ceremony for the presentation of the certificates, the UNICEF Country Representative Mr Rabil Sale expressed the delight of United Nations for the remarkable achievement in address the menace of Open defecation in Jigawa state.
According to him, UNICEF in collaboration with the state government has been working on the area of water, sanitation and hygiene since 2010.
He therefore called on the state government to allocate more fund to sustain the success.
Rabil salisu also called on traditional leaders, civil societies, private organization and general public to keep up their enlightenment campaign against open defecation to ensure clean society.
He pointed out that hygiene and sanitation are very critical in addressing many diseases that are contributing to the high rate of child death and all hands must be on deck to ensure the survival of children.
his speech, the Minister of Water Resources Engineer Sulaiman Adamu described the presentation of the certificate as milestone toward achieving targeted goals of making Nigeria a Free Open Defecation society by 2025.
He said Federal government will continue to invest heavily to make provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities accessible and affordable to all Nigerians.
Also speaking, Governor Badaru Abubakar said, clean water is one of the basic necessity needed by common man daily, and providing such necessity remain one of the paramount priority of his government.
Usman Mohammed Zaria
