Jamatari Community in Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi state said that continued collapse of toilets encourages open defecation practice in the community.
Alhaji Abba Abubakar, the Village Head of Jamatari said this at a sensitization campaign on hygiene and need to stop open defecation, organised by WaterAid and implemented by the local government on Tuesday.
Abubakar said they have loose soil in the community that causes continued collapse of toilets, which encourages all community members to practice open defecation freely.
“Practicing Open defecation is no more an issue in this community because anytime you try to build a pit toilet, it collapses after two to three months and it discourages people in the community to build toilets.
“We used drums and pots to build toilets, but it will still collapse. So our community both males, women and children resorts to practicing open defecation freely as our soil don’t withstand heavy object,” he said.
He appealed to government and other development partners to find proper solutions to their predicament to stop practicing open defecation in the community.
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Mrs Shamsiya Musa of Water and Sanitation Unit of Kirfi Local Government Area urged the community to adopt other methods of toilet construction to stop open defecation.
“WaterAid is encouraging people to use and maintain hygienic toilets which will help them to improve their health and well-being.
“WaterAid has been working with community members to increase their understanding about the importance of using toilets, good sanitation and hygiene practices.”
She urged the community to construct concrete toilets that would enable them stop practicing open defecation.
According to her, WaterAid in collaboration with the local Government’s Water Sanitation Unit introduced a Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to motivate communities who already own toilets to use them.
She said construction of toilets improve basic sanitation and hygiene.
Musa added that the campaign was aimed at raising awareness about the critical importance of toilets, sanitation, hygiene, and clean water practices in achieving better health.
WaterAid, council areas and Civil Society Organisations have engaged in the provision of technical advice on building toilets in Kirfi Communities.
They also taught the communities on using the correct techniques and choosing smart locations for toilets to last longer and keep people healthier. (NAN)
