Ishola Michael
Tafawa Balewa Local government Council of Bauchi State has cried out over the non-availability of safe drinking water in not fewer than 300 Villages in the area.
The Local government which reported an outbreak of Lassa fever recently has however gained from the African Development Bank ADB project under which one Hundred villages benefited from the rehabilitation of broken-down boreholes.
These facts came to light at a stakeholders forum held at Bununu headquarters of Tafawa Balewa LGA which was Organized by an NGO-Women Development Association for self-Sustainance (WODASS) in partnership with WaterAid Nigeria.
The Council’s WASH Coordinator who dropped these facts, Malam Garba Ya’u Jambil, Said of the 775 Villages in the Local government, 300 Still source water from wells and streams unsafe for Human Consumption, Considering the threat of Communicable diseases which could pose danger to Human lives.
While Commending the ADB for its magnanimity in bringing assistance to the plight of about a hundred communities in 2022, the WASH Coordinator also thanked WaterAid Nigeria for its current Hygiene Behavior change(HBC) exercise aimed at encouraging best hygiene practices in Tafawa Balewa LGA, noting that this initiative would help the council to attain open Defecation free status.
In his remarks, the representative of the traditional leaders Malam Ibrahim Unar said the Hygiene behaviour change (HBC) awareness campaign had impacted positively as community members have now realized the Danger posed to human health by open defecation, saying Various families have Embarked on Construction of Toilets within households.
Malam Ibrahim Umar re-echoed traditional leaders warning that any household head that failed to abide by the directive to construct toilets would be sanctioned pointing out that already, some traditional Leaders in Tafawa Balewa LGA are now on suspension for failure to enforce the directive within their area of jurisdiction.
Also speaking, the programme manager of WODASS, and organizer of the stakeholder’s forum, Mr Ezekiel N. Sukumun appealed to community members in Tafawa Balewa LGA to cultivate the idea of presenting the community needs of the people instead of their requests.
He argued that this remained the best option for them to attract genuine assistance from elected representatives.
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