Council Tasks Ministry On Funding Sanitation Programmes

The Registrar, Environ
mental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), Mr Augustine Ebisike, has urged the Federal Ministry of Environment to provide more funds for the nation’s sanitation programmes.
Ebisike who made the call in an interview in Abuja, Monday called for concerted efforts towards providing policy guidelines, standards and statutory enactment that would make it more conducive for private sector participation in environment-related matters.
He said there was also the need for the Ministry of Environment to develop infrastructure for the treatment of faeces.
“Toilet provision should go beyond the idea of ‘one man one toilet’, whereby faecal matter still finds its way into the open. “For those of us who have well designed toilets outside the centre of Abuja, when the content of such toilets are emptied, where are such contents taken to? That is what we need to ponder about, “ he said.
Citing the 2000 Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment report, Ebisike noted that 1,000 children died per day from diarrhoea, due to poor sanitation.
Ebisike said those deaths were largely preventable with access to basic water and sanitation facilities.
According to him, clean and safe toilets will help to keep more girls in schools, thereby increasing attendance rate.