The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) is partnering with Borno state government to launch the Open Defecation Free (ODF) roadmap, as part of activities to mark this year’s World Toilet Day scheduled for November 19, 2024.
UNICEF Manager of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Mamita Bora disclosed this on Monday in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
Bora said the ODF roadmap became necessary as about half of the state’s population lacked access to basic toilet facilities.
“53 per cent of people in Borno state use a basic latrine; the nearly half of the population without access to a basic toilet facility leave nearly everyone in the state at risk of unsafely disposed excreta, cholera and other water-borne diseases”, she said.
She stated that the Borno state government had taken concrete steps to address open defecation through policy decisions and assured that UNICEF would continue to collaborate with the government to ensure the state becomes open defecation-free.
“Borno state government has taken concrete steps to address open defecation. I am happy to announce that the state has made remarkable progress by getting the first two local governments Open Defecation Free. This momentum needs to be sustained with efforts under the ODF campaign to make all LGAs in the state Open Defecation Free.
“UNICEF will continue to collaborate with the state government to implement the ODF roadmap, especially as it will contribute to achieving a shared cleared vision of improving health, nutrition and education outcomes and contribute to economic development for children”, Bora said.
