UNICEF, Yobe validate roadmap to end open defecation by 2030
By Ahmed Abba
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Yobe Government on Monday concluded a validation workshop on Open Defecation Free (ODF), aimed at ending the menace by 2030.
Mrs Mamita Thakkar, WASH Manager, UNICEF Maiduguri Field Office, described the validation as a significant milestone in Yobe’s sanitation journey.
She said the exercise would help guide investment and planning for ODF attainment across the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state.
“This validation of the ODF roadmap is an extremely important step in Yobe’s journey to achieving open defecation-free status.
“The process began with the declaration of Machina as the first ODF LGA, followed by Bade and Fune in 2025,” Thakkar said.
She said that the roadmap would define key milestones, targets and strategic actions to be taken by the state between now and 2030, in order to achieve total sanitation coverage.
Also speaking, Dr Bilkisu Dossah, a sanitation consultant involved in developing the roadmap, said the initiative was launched in January through a series of consultative engagements with relevant stakeholders.
“We engaged stakeholders from across sectors including education, health, religious groups, motor parks, markets, the Ministry of Women Affairs, and the Local Government Service Commission, with technical and financial support from UNICEF,” she said.
Dossah appealed to the general public to take sanitation seriously by making use of existing toilet facilities, stressing that human faeces in the open environment were major sources of deadly diseases such as cholera.
“Having a toilet is not enough — people must use it. Even if you own a toilet and your neighbour defecates in the open, you are still at risk of infection.
“Nigeria currently ranks first globally in open defecation. Yobe has made progress, but more effort is needed,” she said.
In his remarks, Mr Abubakar Baba, the General Manager, Yobe State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA), said the goal of the roadmap was to position the state to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
“Open defecation accounts for 70 per cent of sanitation-related diseases. By tackling this, we solve a significant part of our public health burden,” Baba said.
He added that the roadmap would also promote total sanitation, not just provision of toilets, but ensuring hygiene facilities in schools, health centres, markets, and public places in collaboration with private sector stakeholders.
“The roadmap outlines how to achieve statewide ODF through partnerships that involves the Ministries of Health, Environment, Education, Local Government, and the private sector. Everyone must be on board,” Baba said.
He commended UNICEF for funding the validation workshop, saying the support would enable Yobe to develop a comprehensive document that would guide the implementation of sanitation programmes across the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the roadmap aligns with the Federal Government’s National Action Plan to eliminate open defecation by 2025 and achieve full sanitation coverage by 2030.
NAN
