Simon Utebor, Yenagoa
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Bayelsa State Government have begun a partnership intervention programme on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
The synergy is to enable the state to cope with the problems relating to clean, quality and hygienic water posed by the floods which destroyed sources of water in impacted communities, villages and areas across the state.
To this end, the UNICEF and the state government held a one-day stakeholders’ engagement meeting for the WASH intervention emergency programme for the seven impacted local government areas in Bayelsa.
Declaring the programme open, the Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Keme Wariebi, commended UNICEF for the partnership.
Wariebi noted that though the state government was still working assiduously to achieve the SDGs stipulated guidelines on clean, safe and hygienic water in all parts of the state, the intervention by UNICEF was a welcome development.
He reiterated the commitment of Governor Douye Diri’s administration in provision and execution of water projects in different parts of the state.
Wariebi stated: “As a state, we’re still grappling with meeting up the SDGs target on clean, safe and hygienic water for all Bayelsans.
“It is worthy of note that on September 12, 2021, following the Governor’s commitment towards the practice and observation of good hygienic conditions by our citizens, he, in company with dignitaries from all walks of life, flagged off the state’s version of a programme tagged, ‘Clean Bayelsa: Use the Toilet Campaign’.”
In an overview of UNICEF’s WASH intervention in emergencies such as floods, outbreak of epidemics and conflicts, a UNICEF WASH expert from its Enugu Zonal Office, who represented the Port Harcourt field office, Mr Timi Kiakubu, stated that UNICEF focuses on three thematic areas of WASH, which are children, water supply and hygiene.
On the sanitation component, Kiakubu said UNICEF ensures that there is proper excreta disposal, vector control and solid waste management mechanisms, while the hygienic component of WASH has to do with UNICEF’s intervention in the promotion of good and acceptable hygienic standards and related matters.
Speaking further on UNICEF’s scope of WASH intervention, Kiakubu said: “The purpose of the intervention is aimed at reducing the likelihood of transmission of faecal-oral and vector borne diseases, and environmental health risks by promoting good hygienic practices, providing water and sanitation services and ensuring the optimal use of facilities provided in flood-affected areas of Bayelsa State.
“The scope of the intervention is to enable 10,000 people have improved access to safe and equitable access to sufficient quantity of water for domestic needs.”