.…173,000 people in five communities to benefit
WaterAid partners Ghanaian community to combat harsh climate change
Lagos State is one of the largest cities in Sub-Saharan Africa and the most populous city in Nigeria.
The rapid unpredictable and unplanned population growth in small towns as well as limited government capacity has added pressure on unlimited Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure coupled with lack of maintenance and overuse.
To improve public health in the State, WaterAid Nigeria with support from PepsiCo Foundation in partnership with Lagos State government and Civil Society Organisations has launched a project which will be implemented over a three-year period.
Speaking at the launching of the project which was held in Lagos,
the Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria, Evelyn Mere, said the three-year project is targeted at improving access to safe water , sanitation and hygiene services in communities within and around 3 local council development areas in Lagos State namely Ikotun local govt area, Ikorodu North and Ojodu LCDA.
“It seeks to improves the lives of 173,000 people including men women and children with sustainable access to WASH. These cut across 5 Communites in select rural and peri-urban communities in Lagos state” said Mere.
According to Mere, water sanitation and hygiene are human rights and essential basic services that serve as a foundation for reducing the spread of infectious diseases and promoting human dignity.
“According to WASHNORM statistics, 55% of households in Lagos state have access to safely managed water supply services, only 15% have access to safely managed sanitation services and only 35% have access to hygiene services”
Women and girls, Mere pointed out are largely affected by the lack of access to these life saving services to the detriment of their education and businesses.
“This project will also focus on rehabilitating selected water schemes and providing inclusive sanitation facilities located within public places such as markets, schools and health centres”.
To ensure sustainability, Mere pointed out that the project will be complemented with setting up community management structures.
“We’ll also be carrying out hygiene promotion in communities targeted at women and girls and implement capacity building and economic empowerment programs for them”
The project fits perfectly into the health and environment pillar of the Lagos State T.H.E.M.E.S agenda as well as Water Sanitation Focus Area of the recently launched State Development Plan 2022-2052″ said Mere
This initiative according to the Human Resources Manager, PepsiCo Foundation, Mr Gbenga Akinsanya, forms part of PepsiCo’s Net Water Positive strategy which aims to provide safe water access to 100 million people by 2030.
“We are already halfway to our goal of providing safe water access to 100 million people by 2030 in water-scarce regions of the world like Nigeria. Over the last 15 years, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have helped more than 68 million people gain access to safe water through distribution, purification and conservation programs, putting us more than halfway to our goal.”
In his keynote address, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, Engineer Nurudeen Sodeinde said
Water Sanitation and hygiene management is a huge challenge globally.
However, in Lagos State both the public and private sectors work together as a team.
Lagos state government through the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Water Aid Nigeria to support the regulation of water sanitation and hygiene sector in the state.”
While lamenting that open defecation menace is still a serious challenge in Lagos with many people living under the bridge, markets etc and they defecate everywhere, Sodeinde said this partnership with WaterAid through PepsiCo Fdtn is a welcome development as this will contain the situation, and we are ready to collaborate more” said Engr. Sodeinde who was represented by Engr. Mrs. Omolanke Taiwo.
