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Tag: water

  • Water for Kwara communities

    Accord in Kwara State led by its governorship candidate, Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin, has provided water for communities in fourteen local government areas. People in these communities have endured hardship and suffered tirelessly from water borne diseases due of lack of potable water.

    The state chairman of Accord, Chief Jaiyeola Omotoso, noted that his party was providing water to the communities by drilling boreholes and repairing damaged boreholes to bring succour to the people.

    Omotoso said: “The sad reality is that our people across the state are subjected to life of misery because of the wickedness of those who pretend to serve them. There is no running public water in any house in the whole of Kwara not even in Ilorin, the state capital.

    “Our state is plagued by worst kind of leadership possible in Nigeria. Our candidate for the position of the governorship, Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin is doing this to alleviate their suffering to our people and save them from water borne diseases.”

    Communities that have benefitted include Onila, Bolorunduro, Agbamu Il Ajase, Rore, Arandun, Agbamu, Esie, Iludun-oro , Omido, Eggi OyoPo, Buhari, Okeya, Igbaja, Oro, Ago Panu, Okerimi, Eyeba, Egudu, Ijan, Iwo, Omu-Aran, Odo-Owa, Ipetu and Eleyin, all in Irepodun Local Government.

    Other locations include Kulende, Ita goma, Sango, Gaa Akanbi, Meduku, Ori Apata and Balogun Fulani ward 1 in Ilorin South Local Government.

    The intervention also reached Isin, Ilorin Central and Asa.

    One of the beneficiaries at Kulende, Mrs. Serifat Ahmed, expressed her gratitude for the restoration of water in the area.

    She said: “We don’t have water to use here to drink or for prayers because the borehole we have here is not working again. Government abandoned it and nobody came for repairs until this party people came to repair it for us so we can have water to use. Everybody knows that water is very important for human beings. We want to beg our government to make water available for the people. Also we want electricity. Many of us depend on electricity to do our small business. I want to thank the man who did the water for us, Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin. They said he wants to be governor. That is the kind of man the people need. Somebody who will have mercy on poor people.”

    Abayomi Adigun of Onila District in Ajase Ipo said the restoration of the borehole would bring relief to the people.

    “You need to see how people suffer to fetch water. Many who can afford pay money to Mallam and wheelbarrow people to help them get water for use. We are happy for this repair and this is what government should have done. Our government needs to have maintenance culture. It is very sad how simple things are left to become bad because of corruption.”

    Adedoyin said he is in the race for the leadership of the state to liberate Kwara State.

    “Our people should never be this poor as to live in squalid conditions they have been subjected to. We have very selfish political elite in this state. Nobody is thinking about the future of the state. Our women, children and young people need help. There is virtually no industry that is working in Kwara again yet all our governments since 1999 are concerned about is how to share the resources among a tiny group of people.

    “We must change direction. Our people must be ready to vote against poverty. Look at the over 100 communities we have provided water for, some of the boreholes we repaired require as little as N50,000 to fix yet, they have been abandoned for years. Do you know what three mechanised boreholes per 193 wards can do in solving the water problem?

    “This is the reason I am running to be governor. To give new life to our people, to rebuild the economy of the state and too create opportunities for our people to better their lives, our people deserve better.’’

     

  • ‘Why I prioritised water supply’

    The lawmaker representing Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency in Ondo State, Bamidele Baderinwa has said he embarked on construction of 10 water boreholes across various communities in Ifedore Local Government Area because of the importance of water to human existence.

    According to him, this was part of his electioneering promises to the people while seeking their supports during the 2015 general elections.

    Baderinwa noted that similar gesture had been extended to communities in Idanre Local Government Area.

    He said: “I promised to give my people quality representation and they voted for me. I must not let them down in any circumstance, including doing the needful to better their lot.”

    Among other communities enjoying the borehole project include Ijare, Ilara Mokin and Bolorunduro in Owena.

    The lawmaker, who is seeking re-election to the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stressed that his constituents would enjoy more benefits of democracy.

    Baderinwa assured that the people would soon witness the true value of democracy under the APC administration because of its commitment to the welfare of the people.

    The lawmaker emphasised that the APC administration under President Muhammadu Buhari meant well for the people and would take them to the next level of development.

    He appealed to the electorate to support Buhari’s re-election bid, even as he urged them to vote for all APC candidates in next month’s elections.

  • So far, so fair

    In its determination to unlock the economy, the Buhari administration is tackling headlong the challenges of transportation, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    The sector witnessed unprecedented activities across all the modes – road, water and air – last year.

     

    State of roads

    The Federal Government took off  last January by reviewing the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, approving N134 billion to accommodate more features on some sections of this critical artery in the road architecture. The government announced the extension of the deadline for the delivery of the road from 2018 to 2020. The repairs started in 2006.

    The Federal Government pursued the completion of 44 highways, 66 interstate roads and 45 bridges scattered across 34 states, which were awarded in 2017. But last year, it awarded close to 60 roads, bridges and highways, which cut across 12 states – Yobe, Adamawa, Benue, Kwara, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Enugu, Borno, Anambra and Sokoto, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

    The ministry had a N555.9 billion budget last year; out of which N295 billion was earmarked for key capital projects, and the funding of road construction, expansion and maintenance.

    The Federal Government also approved N5.44 billion for the construction of the Otukpo (Benue State) and Enugu road, as well as N348.59 billion for the Akwanga – Jos-Bauchi – Gombe road expansion which cover 420.6 kilometres.

    The road, according to Fashola, completes the integration of the Northcentral with the Southeast and the Northeast.

    “Council had previously approved the Abuja-Keffi Road and the Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi Road – all in the Northcentral.  In May, Council had also approved Nineth Mile, Enugu to Makurdi road that connected the Southeast to the Northcentral.

    “That completes the spine of the major movement of agro produce and other related produce,” Fashola disclosed.

    The ministry in October received N100 billion proceeds from Sukuk bonds subscription to fund repairs of 25 key economic road projects across the six geo-political zones.

    Fashola, who disclosed that the worst road networks in the country were located in the Southsouth and Southeast geo-political zones declared that the Federal Government would change the narratives and deliver these road projects on time, in view of the high traffic usually recorded at the end of the year.

    These are apart from the $1.5 million African Development Bank loan approved for the Lagos-Abidjan road project, which, according to the Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed, was Nigeria’s allocation of the $13.5 million approved for the multinational highway, which involves Benin Republic, Ghana, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire.

    According to Fashola, this is outside the N63.023 billion approved last November by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the construction of the Lagos-Badagry-Seme border Expressway and the $575.5million awarded to Julius Berger, for the construction of the 11.9 km link road to the second Niger Bridge.

    Fashola said the government had embarked on massive rehabilitation and construction in response to the critical situation of the road network.

    Though Nigeria has 108,000 km surfaced roads as at 1990, largest road network in West Africa and second largest, south of the Sahara, it has battled decaying infrastructure.

    The minister believes the administration is doing so much with much less, underscoring the regime’s penchant for prudence in the public sector.

    Waterways

    Though the nation still battles with massive underfunding of the waterways, the government has made appreciable investments in the provision of water ambulance across the waterways to prevent fatalities. The government, through the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), has embarked on aggressive enlightenment to drive home the need for voluntary compliance with regulatory codes by all operators on the waterways.

    But, perhaps, more significant is the readiness of NIWA to begin the operation of its strategic inland ports, such as the Baro River Port in Niger State, the flagship port in the North, which despite the huge investments, were rendered unusable by lack of motorable roads.

    The port, which is being equipped with top of the range cargo handling equipment, would soon be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari. The inland port would reduce the pressure on Lagos ports as cargoes for the Northern parts of the country may find their way there quickly.

    NIWA Managing Director Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora said he was determined to steer the agency towards the path of efficiency as he is determined to improve NIWA’s effectiveness as the regulator on the waterways. He expressed readiness to work with other state agencies in driving sanity into all operators on the waterways in order to reduce the level of accidents and deaths.

    He expressed the hope that operators would soon begin to deploy safer and better water craft to the water way to enhance safety, profitability and efficiency on the water.

    Railway

    Though the concessioning of the narrow gauge to the United States’ (US’s) industrial giant General Electric (GE) ran into stormy waters, when  it announced its divestment from transportation, the Buhari government, however, insisted the concessioning remains on course as it has resumed discussion with the GE’s major partner Transnet International.

    The deal is to address sundry issues, such as refleeting of the fixed and rolling stocks of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), which upon the ratification of the concession deed operate as the regulator of the subsector.

    While it firms up negotiations on ensuring smooth operations on its narrow gauge asset, the Federal Government in 2017 began work on the Lagos Ibadan Standard Gauge. The $1.7 billion project, which is the second Lot on the Western line, which is to construct a standard gauge rail line from Lagos to Kano, is penciled to be delivered within the first quarter of 2019.

    When done, passenger and cargo traffic would be able to move from the Ports to Ibadan on a speed train that could connect the two southwest states within one hour.

    The Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, who has been driving the construction, awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), said the government envisages high subscription of the train service, especially as the speed rail cuts across several border towns of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States.

    He said the train service will proceed on the final lot – Ibadan to Kano – once the contractor delivers on the Lagos-Ibadan this year.

    Amaechi, whose ministry disbursed N263.7 billion last year, said the government intends to link at least all the state capitals by rail before 2023, adding that once the government accesses funds, work would also begin on the Lagos-Calabar coastal rail line, even as work, according to him, would also start soon on the construction of speed rail line on the eastern flank, from port Harcourt to Maiduguri. He said narrow gauge train connects up to Gombe, and could have hit Borno, but for the prevailing insecurity.

     

    Enabling laws

    The National Assembly has been instrumental to the increasing government’s activity on the transport sector. No fewer than six inhibiting laws are in various stages of amendments. The Nigerian Railway Corporation Act 1945 amendment Bill, is awaiting concurrent amendment from the House of Representatives, even as others, such as the Nigeria Transportation Commission Bill, which seeks to establish a regulator for the transportation sector is awaiting second reading at the National Assembly, the Nigerian Shippers Council Amendment Bill, and the Nigeria Ports Authority Amendment Bills are also are at various stages before the National Assembly.

    Senate Committee Chairman on Land Transport Senator Gbenga Ashafa assured the National Assembly would strive to remove all bottlenecks towards ensuring that the transportation contributes maximally to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Ashafa insisted that seamless transportation remains the bedrock of any economy, adding that this cannot be achieved where obnoxious laws, or absence of it impedes the operations of the sector.

     

    Conclusion

    From sustaining the gains of its predecessor on the railway transformation agenda, the government moved towards the reinvigoration of the 25-year railway development policy. This policy not only sustained the rehabilitation of the narrow gauge, but embarks on modernisation of the rail system by standard gauge.

    The development of other transportation modes – waterways, road and air – remains the way to go if the nation is to break the jinx where the sector contributes the least (four percent) to GDP.

     

  • C/River government lauded for $3m commitment to water, sanitation

    The Cross River State government has been commended for its commitment on an annual $3 million investment in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.

    In a communiqué at the end of the State’s WASH Steering Committee one-day advocacy meeting with the media, government and development partners to review the status of Water and Sanitation Hygiene, in Calabar, the state government was also urged to commence practical modalities for the implementation of the pledge, which was made at the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    The programmes under review at the meeting were the EU/UNICEF-WSSSP II, the Global Sanitation Funded-RUSHPIN Programme; USAID and Coca Cola Foundation; Water and Development Alliance (WADA) project; and the UKAid sanitation project with United Purpose.

    The communiqué signed by the Commissioner, Ministry of Water Resources, Ntufam Gabe Oji, and 12 others read in part, however observed that there are key outstanding gaps requiring urgent government attention in the four major water and sanitation programmes in the state that are coming to an end in 2019: the EU/UNICEF-WSSSP II, the Global Sanitation Funded-RUSHPIN Programme, USAID and Coca Cola Foundation; Water and Development Alliance (WADA) project, and the UKAid sanitation project with United Purpose.

    The meeting also called on the state government to release and make available agreed operational counterpart funds to the EU-UNICEF programmes and Global Sanitation Fund-RUSHPIN programmes.

    They noted that there are future investment opportunities for Cross River State in view of the State of Emergency for the WASH sector declared by the Federal Government and the 30 billion naira WASH fund.

  • Water, sanitation: Buhari’s emergency to the rescue

    With the launch of the National Action Plan for the Revitalisation of Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene Sector, Nigeria is set to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) by 2030. FRANK IKPEFAN writes that President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of emergency on water and sanitation is to avoid a repeat of the country’s failure to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for WASH in 2015.

    THE stage was set and guests were seated. The venue was the State House Conference Centre, Abuja. The scenery was aesthetic. It betrayed the decision that was to come out of it. In less than 30 minutes, President Muhammadu Buhari had declared a state of emergency on water and sanitation sector.

    To many stakeholders, the measure taken by the Buhari administration was right, considering the decline in the sector’s fortune.

    Unknown to many, the water and sanitation sector has recorded more deaths than the rampaging Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. Hundreds of infants are lost annually to water borne diseases.

    According to the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Chief Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Zaid Jurji, 122,000 Nigerians, including 87,000 children below five years die each year from diarrhea; nearly 90 per cent is directly attributed to lack of WASH.

    Without toilets, the people are left with the option of defecating in the open, an act leading to exposure to diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, viral hepatitis, typhoid, polio, and dysentery, Jurji explained.

    Despite being the largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, one out of three Nigerians lacks access to clean water close to his/home; and two in three have no access to decent household toilets, according to WaterAid Nigeria, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO).

    So, it was only a matter of time before attention was directed to a sector that had received less attention in policy making and monitoring, despite huge investments.

    Also, the country’s sanitation and hygiene fortune has been on the decline since the 90s. Little or no effort had been done to revive it. In fact, Nigeria recorded practically no progress in the area of sanitation in the last 25 years, a World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) in a 2015 Report, said.

    The report, aimed at monitoring the progress of countries towards achieving access to safe water and basic sanitation, said that 38 per cent of the world population had access to improved sanitation in 1990,

    The figure declined in 2015 to a dismal 29 per cent, which was up just by one per cent from 2014’s figure of 28 per cent.

    In declaring the state of emergency, President Buhari said that Nigeria could not afford to allow water borne diseases to continue to decimate the country’s population.

    He decried the high rating of the country as number two in the global rating on Open Defecation as about 25 per cent of the population practice open defecation.

    According to UNICEF, Nigeria ranks among the top five open defecator in the world for the past 15 years, moving from fifth place in 2013 to second in 2015.

    Inaugurating the National Action Plan for Revitalisation of the WASH Sector, Buhari said that the declaration became imperative to reduce the high-prevalence of water-borne diseases across the country, which had caused preventable deaths.

    He said: “Access to pipe borne water services which was 32 per cent in 1990 has declined to seven per cent in 2015; access to improved sanitation has also decreased from 38 per cent in 1990 to 29 per cent in 2015.

    “Our country now ranks No 2 in the global rating on Open Defecation as about 25 per cent of our population practice open defecation.

    “WASH services at the rural areas are unsustainable as 46 per cent of all water schemes are non-functional, and the share of our spending on WASH sector has been declining from 0.70 per cent of the GDP in 1990 to about 0.27 per cent in 2015 which is far below the 0.70 per cent at the West African regional level.

    “However, these are not being given the required attention judging from the high prevalence of water-borne diseases that are being reported in different parts of the country.

    “We cannot and will not continue to allow these preventable occurrences to decimate our population.

    “The Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs) targets (6.1 & 6.2) for WASH are even more demanding as they require WASH services to be provided in adequate quantity and quality on premises at affordable prices.

    “This cannot be achieved if we continue with ‘a business as usual’ approach. It is on this premise that I fully endorse the decision taken at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in April this year to declare ‘a State of Emergency on our WASH sector.’

    “I call on all state governments to complement this effort by according the sector similar recognition to enable us work together to achieve the SDG targets for WASH by 2030.’’ President Buhari assured that his administration will continue to place priority on infrastructure development including water supply, sanitation and hygiene services towards ensuring a better life for Nigerians.

    He said: “From the inception of this administration, we have demonstrated serious commitment to the development of the Water Sector by preserving the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and subsequently approving the 15-year roadmap developed for the sector.

    “The transformation being witnessed in the sector since then is highly commendable. I have no doubt that the on-going initiatives including the implementation of the Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) in the ministry will take the water sector to improved performance and supply, thereby meeting the national aspirations as well as the SDGs.”

    WaterAid Country Director in Nigeria ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye hailed the Federal Government’s emergency response to address the water and sanitation crisis, the first phase of a National Action Plan to address a state of emergency declared earlier in April this year.

    The organisation, which is a key player in the sector, in a statement by its Communications & Media Manager, Seyi Abdulmalik, in Abuja, the nation’s capital, said the water and sanitation sector kills more people annually than the insurgency in the Northeast states of Adamawa, Bornu and Yobe.

    The statement said that poor sanitation was estimated to cost countries the equivalent of 0.9 per cent of GDP – “in Nigeria, this amounts to $3.38 billion USD a year.”

    Dr. Aniagolu-Okoye said: “With one in three Nigerians without clean water, and two in three Nigerians without decent household sanitation, strong political will is what is needed to address the water and sanitation crises in Nigeria and at WaterAid we are delighted that the Federal Government and President Buhari is demonstrating the needed political will with the launch of the Action Plan.

    “The National Plan of Action is a significant political milestone towards achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal Six to reach everyone, everywhere with clean water and decent sanitation by 2030 and our expectation is that state governments will follow suit in developing Action Plans to address the Water and Sanitation crises in their respective states.”

    UNICEF has also hailed the government’s declaration, describing it as an important milestone.

    Its chief WASH urged the government to translate the action plan into reality by increasing its budget for the water sector.

    Jurji added that UNICEF will continue support projects targeted at reaching the underserved in the country.

    UNICEF Chief WASH said: “This is a very important milestone; a commitment by the highest authority in the country. The Federal Government needs to translate this plan into a reality and this starts with increased budgetary allocations to the sector.

    “UNICEF’s role is catalytic and will help transfer knowledge of successful projects that are being supported to other underserved and unserved locations. UNICEF will also support with updated technical data and information to identify areas of priority needs and help informed decision making. The scale of need is enormous and support will have to be done in a targeted and progressive manner.”

    Also, the National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaboration Council (WSSCC), Dr. Priscilla Achakpa, said that governments at all levels, must show commitment to the deflation if the action plan on water and sanitation should succeed.

    According to her, Nigeria, being a signatory to the UN declaration on SDGs, must ensure that it demonstrates the political will to change the fortune of the water sector.

    She also said the declaration called for improved investment of resources on the sector.

    Dr. Achakpa said: “I think that the declaration of emergency on WASH is coming at no better time than now. This is the right time for Nigeria to take the lead being a signatory to the UN declaration on SDGs.

    “This should not just be a declaration. There should be a lot of commitment because the declaration requires a lot of resources, political will and a lot of commitment at not just the federal level but at the local levels. The political will of state government and local governments are needed if this must succeed.”

    The National Action Plan begins with an 18-month emergency plan, followed by a five-year recovery plan and a 13-year revitalisation strategy, towards the 2030 deadline set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty, and create a healthier, more sustainable planet.

    It commits the federal and state governments to establish the institutional and funding foundations for sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services, and to accelerate development towards 2030.

    But, what commitment will the federal, state and local governments show to this declaration? Only time will tell.

  • Buhari declares state of emergency on water, sanitation

    •’Nigeria ranks second in global open defecation’

    Nigeria cannot afford to allow water borne diseases to keep decimating its population, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

    The President, who stated this while inaugurating National Action Plan for Revitalisation of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector at the State House, has, therefore, declared a state of emergency on water supply, sanitation and hygiene sector.

    He decried the country’s No. 2 rating in the global report on defecation, which claims that about 25 per cent of Nigeria’s population  practising open defecation.

    Buhari said the declaration has become imperative to reduce the high-prevalence of water-borne diseases in different parts of the country.

    He noted that the situation is causing preventable deaths, adding that he was aware that Nigeria did not meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)  targets for Water Supply and Sanitation that ended in 2015.

    While emphasising that the provision of potable water supply, adequate sanitation and hygiene were primarily the responsibilities of state and local governments, he directed government at all levels to redouble efforts and work towards meeting the nation’s water supply and sanitation needs.

    He said available statistics on open defecation, access to pipe borne water services and sanitation in the country ‘’were disturbing’’.

    The President warned that henceforth, the Federal Government’s support to state would be based on their commitment to the implementation of the National Action Plan for Revitalisation  of the Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector in their respective state and plans to end open defecation by 2025.

    He lamented: “Access to pipe-borne water services, which was 32 per  cent in 1990, has declined to seven per cent in 2015; access to improved sanitation has also decreased from 38 per  cent in 1990 to 29 per  cent in 2015.

    “Our country now ranks No 2 in the global rating on Open Defecation as about 25 per  cent of our population are practicing open defecation.

    ‘’WASH services at the rural areas are unsustainable as 46 per cent of all water schemes are non-functional, and the share of our spending on WASH sector has been declining from 0.70 per cent of the GDP in 1990 to about 0.27  per cent in 2015, which is far below the 0.70 per cent at the West African regional level.”

    He added: “However, these are not being given the required attention judging from the high prevalence of water-borne diseases that are being reported in different parts of the country.

    ‘’We cannot and will not continue to allow these preventable occurrences to decimate our population…

    ‘’I call on all state governments to complement this effort by according the sector similar recognition to enable us work together to achieve the SDG targets for WASH by 2030.”

    Buhari assured that his administration would keep placing priority on infrastructure growth, including water supply, sanitation and hygiene services towards ensuring a better life for Nigerians.

    Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu said open defecation reduced the dignity of a nation and has reduced school enrollment and attendance due to loss of time in search of water and frequent episodes of water and sanitation related illnesses as well as poor access to hygiene management facilities in schools.

    Deputy Country Representative of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria, Pernille Ironson, who spoke on behalf of development partners on WASH, said: “The Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment and state governments need to work together for all Nigerians to have clean water and sanitation.”

    Presently, the WASH programme is operational in six states of Imo, Abia, Delta, Taraba, Niger and Sokoto.

     

  • Guinness, Water Aid undertake ‘Water of Life’ project in Kebbi

    Guinness Nigeria Plc has entered into partnership with WaterAid to ensure sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene, while helping people to improve their health and well-being.

    The partnership, which has the Guinness Nigeria’s “Water of Life” programme and WaterAid Nigeria working with Kebbi State government through the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (Kebbi RUWASSA), with the technical support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in implementing a sustainable water project to contribute to building thriving communities in the state, is aimed at providing inclusive access to clean water to an estimated 2,500 people in D’kwa village, Danko/Wasugu LGA in Kebbi. It is to strengthen the community management structures’ capacity to support sustained operations of the water facility model.

    The water facility is expected to alleviate water challenges faced by D’kwa community, which is largely a farming community where many households rely on unsafe shallow wells and other unimproved surface sources for their supply of drinking water.

    During the dry season from November to January, residents usually have to walk for two to three kilometres to get water from a stream. This scarcity, according to WaterAid, disproportionately affects women and girls, putting them at greater physical risk, as many households rely on them to fetch water from these distances in areas  prone to sand storms.

    Speaking on the project, Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc., Mrs. Viola Graham-Douglas, said: “The Guinness Nigeria ‘Water of Life’ programme is aimed at providing access to clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene in order to reduce poverty, promote better health, wellbeing, gender equality and empower women and girls. We’re working with key partners to shine a light on these issues and find lasting solutions, one community at a time.

    “This project is also expected to support local development as the financial model to manage the water point will also help small businesses to thrive and make local financing fund pool available to support larger community development initiatives. This supports Guinness Nigeria’s focus on supporting local livelihoods and prosperous rural economies.”

    According to WaterAid, overall, access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services has remained low in Nigeria. A UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme, said about 60 million people out of about 190million population still lack access to clean water, while only 33 per cent has access to basic sanitation. This means approximately, about 120 million people in Nigeria do not have access to toilet facilities.

    WaterAid Nigeria Country Director, Dr. ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, said: “Water, sanitation and hygiene remained some of the most neglected issues in our country today. At WaterAid, our work is all about transforming lives by improving access to these life-saving services for the poorest and most marginalised in our society.

  • Water expert says dehydration causes memory loss

    Dr Jide Owolana, the Chief Medical Director, Living Standard Hospital, Benin, said on Tuesday said that dehydration of the human body could lead to memory loss.

    Owolana, who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Benin, also said humans should reduce the amount of soft drinks and alcohol they take.

    The medical expert expressed regret that Nigerians had replaced drinking water with soft drinks and alcohol consumption at every meal they took.

    According to him, the need for drinking a lot of water is important, explaining that women are supposed to drink 90 ounces (11 cups) of water per day while men are supposed to take 125 ounces (16 cups) per day.

    Dr Jide said the recommended water consumption could vary based on age, weight, sex and the climate.

    Read Also: How we discovered our brother’s body, by siblings

    The Chief Medical Director said that dehydration could cause mood swings, reduce cognitive and motor skills, memory loss and made one more sensitive to pain.

    He said the increased consumption of water would increase the brain power and provide energy, promote healthy weight management and weight loss.

    Others are flush out toxins, improve complexion, prevent headache, cramps and sprains.

  • EU disburses €221m on water, sanitation

    The European Union disbursed €221 million for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects in Nigeria between 2008 and 2013, the Head of Politics, Press and Information Section, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Nigeria, Olivier Huot has said.

    He said that EU is trying to make people more concerned about climate change program and more involved in the mitigation.

    Speaking yesterday at the Youth involvement in climate action program in Abuja, Huot said the EU tries to remind countries to urgently act against climate change.

    His words, “For Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects in Nigeria, the EU disbursed 221 millions of EUROS between 2008 and 2013.

    “The program is part of the climate diplomacy week that the European Union organises every year. Today we are sanitizing youths on climate change because it is not only problems for academics, we need to see how youths can be involved in the mitigation of the climate change program.

    “We are trying to make people more concerned about the climate change program and more involved in the mitigation, we try to remind the country that it is an urgent matter to act against climate change…”

  • Obaseki approves take-off grant for UNICEF-WASH programme

    Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has approved the take-off grant and operational funds for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme in the state, to deepen the project’s impact to Edo residents.

    Governor Obaseki disclosed this when the new Manager, UNICEF WASH programme, Michael Forson, and other officials of the programme paid the governor a courtesy call at the Government House, in Benin City.

    According to him, “As a government, we are fully committed to UNICEF-WASH programme. We will work with you to integrate our water-related development with the UNICEF-WASH programme.”

    He said there was need for UNICEF-WASH to present details of the baseline report to the state government, which would guide government in the planning process, noting, “We understand the impact of the programme on our people and your visit is very timely.

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    “We are excited and would not mind if you share the entire details of the baseline studies with us to assist us in our development plans.”

    Forson commended Governor Obaseki for his administration’s commitment to inclusive development in the state.

    He lauded the governor’s leadership style and his implementation of sound policies that have brought development to the people of the state.

    He added that the state’s Commissioner for Water and Energy Resources has spoken on the administration’s commitment to UNICEF-WASH programme, which was further demonstrated with the release of N700 million counterpart fund by the state government.