World Toilet Day: Environmental Group Calls For Safe Practice … Urges Govt. To Provide Clean Water

By Alltimepost.com

Frontline Environmental Group, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) joins the rest of the world to observe this year’s World Toilet Day, with a call to government at all levels to resuscitate the public water plant and river basins in Nigeria for maximal operation.

The organization also called on other relevant stakeholders, including Non-governmental water organizations to collaborate with government in reviving this sector to ensure sufficient water for all so as to promote sustainable sanitation in the country.

World Toilet Day is a United Nations-recognized program of action aimed at breaking the taboo around toilet and drawing global attention to sanitation.

The UN officially designated November 19 as World Toilet Day in 2013. Established in 2001, this year’s event focuses on toilets and nutrition.

As part of the activities marking the event, ANEEJ Programme Officer, Sandra Eguagie, noted in Benin City, Edo State capital during the week that the simple act of separating feces (human or animal) from human contact and the environment has a way of improving the nutritional status of man.

“It also reduces diarrhea and other diseases which means better health especially for women and children. This also reduces the risk of stunting among children.

“Let’s not forget that stunting has a negative mental impact on children and this hinders them from achieving their full potentials. It should be noted that child growth can only improve after communities reduce and eradicate open defecation,” she said.

Eguagie advised that the type of food and consumption patterns must be structured in such a way that balance diet is the priority of household and not the quantity of food, stressing the importance of nutrition, personal hygiene and good environmental practice in protecting human health and the environment.

She recalled that ANEEJ recently celebrated the Global Hand washing Day event in schools in Edo State with a focus on the importance and basic technique on hand-washing with soap and clean water.

“Reason being that hand-washing with soap is the most effective and cheapest way of preventing diarrhea and acute respiratory infections especially among children under age five.

“Pneumonia is the number one cause of death among children under five years while diarrhea is the second. According to UNICEF, hand-washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet and at other critical times can go a long way to save more lives than any single vaccine or medical interventions.”

ANEEJ called on Nigerians especially mothers with children under 5 years to maintain good toilet hygiene, clean drinking water points in the home, good consumption pattern and practice proper environmental sanitation.

“There must be conscious effort to block the possible channels of excreta from water, food and the environment.

“Hand washing after the use of toilet and in other critical times must be encouraged in the home as a habit.

“Also our meals must be covered to avoid crawling and flying insects which are the vectors that transfer germs from toilet and exposed excreta to the uncovered food and drinking water. This results in typhoid, diarrhea, cholera and other diseases,” the organization noted.