A 10-member committee has been inaugurated to disseminate knowledge on hygiene practises to the low-income population of Lagos State.
The team will see to the effective performance of all Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities aimed at improving hygiene and healthy living in the state, especially in the low-income areas.
Permanent Secretary Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (Office of Drainage Services) Nurudeen Shodeinde, who was represented by the Director of Drainage Enforcement and Compliance, Mahmood Adegbite, said it was part of efforts at ensuring its residents live a healthy life.
Bello sad the team was raised to also ‘formalise the structured and methodical approach to gaining universal adoption of handwashing and faecal sludge disposal, behaviours that are expected to reduce disease-causing micro-organisms and parasite transmission’.
He added: “The State Planning and Implementation committee (SPIC), drawn from different sectors, will see to the successful monitoring of the programme while also carrying out advocacies at the state and at local government areas.
“The project entails disseminating knowledge and understanding of hygiene practices, as well as their associated health hazards to low-income populations. It is also to raise hygiene awareness among people in the target communities, with a focus on hygiene education for women and girls.
“If sanitation and hygiene are vital, then stakeholders like you are critical. We all need to persuade others because many people today still take hygiene for granted, try to hide it, or have no idea what to do or why hygiene is important. However, if we are to become a healthy and productive society, capable of contributing to the nation’s long-term growth and development, everyone must understand and appreciate how.
“We’ve gathered here today to start a vital programme aimed at promoting and educating the residents of Ikorodu North and Ojodu LCDAs on hygiene.