The Federal Government has trained Community Development Service (CDS) Focal Officers of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to deepen the Clean Nigeria Campaign.
The 2-Day Intensive Training Workshop which began on Thursday at Global Village Suites, “One-Man Village” in Nasarawa State, for the NYSC CDS officers drawn from across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), focused on innovative approaches to ending open defecation in the country.
TheFact Daily reports that the campaign which was launched in November, 2019, was intended to address the country’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) needs. It was also aimed at preventing water and sanitation related diseases like diarrhea and trachoma, and slows down the spread of fatal contagious diseases like Coronavirus and Ebola.
Declaring the workshop open, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Richard Pheelangwah, said the training workshop was organised by the Ministry in collaboration with Self Help Africa, to reaffirm the government commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable Nigeria.
He noted that Nigeria was facing a daunting challenge with open defecation, with over 48 million people practicing it, resulting in severe health, environmental, and economic consequences. Therefore, the Clean Nigeria Campaign was flagged off in 2019 to focus on ending Open Defecation and to improve access to Sanitation and Hygiene.
Represented by the Director, Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, Moses Jo-Madugu, Pheelangwah said that since the flag-off of the Campaign there has been some remarkable but slow progress in achieving the targets of the Campaign, adding that with 136 LGAs and an entire State (Jigawa) that has been declared Open Defecation Free, there was the need to re-double efforts towards achieving the target of ending Open Defecation by 2030.
He highlighted that “the Federal Government through the Ministry has also put in place several other initiatives to accelerate progress on WASH such as the Partnership for Expanded Water Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH). The signing of MoUs between the Ministry and Ministries of Health, Education and Youth Development for the SchoolWASH, HealthWASH and YouthWASH programmes respectively.
“This action therefore, marks the takeoff of the YouthWASH Programme in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, NYSC, partners and CSOs,” he said.
While stating that the Clean Nigeria Campaign is a clarion call to action, the Permanent Secretary said the Ministry was excited to collaborate with the NYSC to mobilize Corps members nationwide.
He said through the CDS activities, the Ministry aims to trigger a sanitation revolution to end open defecation in Nigeria.
Speaking earlier, the National President of YouthWASH Initiative Africa, Mr. Nature Uchenna Obiakor said, the initiative embodies a shared commitment to fostering a clean and healthy Nigeria through actionable strategies and collective effort.
He said through advocacy, capacity building and strategic partnerships, the organization focuses on equipping the youth with skills, knowledge, and platforms necessary to lead impactful WASH initiative.
“Our efforts are aligned with national and global goals, including the Clean Nigeria Campaign and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he said.
He expressed optimism that the knowledge shared and partnerships formed at the event would inspire innovative solutions and empower all participants to play key roles in the successful implementation of the Clean Nigeria Campaign.
A participant at the workshop, Mrs Ifekudu Kosy, from NYSC Bayelsa State, expressed delight to be part of the training, promising to use the knowledge gained to advance the campaign in her state.
On his part, Mr. Oparah Oporah of NYSC Headquarters Abuja, said, “we are going to build a lasting collaboration to see that the mandate of ending open defecation is achieved.”
Meanwhile, Mrs Victoria Sule of NYSC CDS, Zamfara State said, her expectation at the training was to acquire the skills necessary to work towards ending open defecation in the state. She also called for the state government’s support to carry out the campaign across the local government areas of the state.
