Environmental Protection Board Commends FCT Initiative

The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has recommended the Innovative Community Led Total Sanitation Initiative (CLTS) to all the area councils in the territory to curtail the practice of open defecation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Deputy Director Environmental Health and Safety Unit of the board, Mrs Aishat Adebayo made the recommendation in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja.

Adebayo was reacting to complains of open defecation practices in most area councils particularly in Kuje, Gwagwalada, Kubwa, and Bwari.

The Tide learnt that residents of these areas had earlier accused the AEPB of marginalisation in sanitising and beautifying areas mostly occupied by FCT’s workforce.

They argued that the board focused its attention on sanitation only in the cosmopolitan centres, leaving the area councils unattended.

Adebayo said that although the area councils could handle their sanitation activities, the agency would liaise with them to curb open defecation through the CLTS initiative.

“There is one programme on community led total sanitation which I think will be of benefit to these communities.

“We will liaise with the department of environmental health and conservation in the area councils to make sure they do this quickly.

“The awareness is high communities come together to provide these facilities to ensure that the children, even the adults they have facilities because if you defecate openly, you are opening your community to a lot of diseases, cholera, and so on and so forth.

“Our sister department in the area councils can go round and ensure as a matter of urgency, the landlord provides even if it is what they call the VIP toilets so that tenants will have access to such facilities within their compounds.

“And we have some donor agencies coming in to support the administration in this regard, I think, by and large, I believe that we will get there”.

The Tide further learnt that the CLTS facilities communities to conduct their own appraisal and analysis of open defecation and take action to eliminate the practice.

The approach recognizes that merely providing toilets does not guarantee their use, or improved sanitation and hygiene.

The initiative differs from other sanitation approaches where hardware facilities are provided for communities by donor agencies, but rather focus on the behavioural change to ensure real and sustainable improvement.

CLTS, pioneered by Kamal Kar, a development consultant from India in 2000, was introduced in Nigeria by WaterAid, an international non-governmental organisation in 2004 and has since gained grounds in the country.