Agency Blames Cholera Outbreak On Poor Sanitation

The Rivers State Rural
Water Supply and Sanitation Agency has blamed the outbreak of Cholera in rural communities on lack of behavioural change and poor sanitation culture.
The Head of Managing Monitoring and Evaluation unit in the Agency, Mr Napoleon Adah who made this known during in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, said that most rural people find it difficult to observe simple hygiene such as hand washing after toilets and covering of food.
Mr Adah also said that open defeacation which seems to be the culture of rural people is very different to change, stressing that this situation is responsible for the increasing rate of Cholera and other diseases in the rural areas.
He said that the Agency has embarked on series of campaigns across the rural areas to encourage such behavioural change like handwashing after toilets, washing of hands after eating and the avoidance of open defeacation.
In his words. “These are simple things that every communities should imbibe.
Meanwhile a programme to eradicate open defeacation in the rural areas has been launched in three local government area of the state by the Agency with the support of the European Union and Niger Delta support programme.
According to Mr Adah, the programme tagged, Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) was launched in Emohua, Akuku-Toru and Opobo/Nkon Local Government Areas.
He said that the CLTS programme was aimed at sensitizing residents of the three Local Government Area on the need to ensure clean environment through regular sanitations and installation of toilet faicliteis in their homes.
According to him, the objective of the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programme is to eradciate open defeacation with a view to eradicating cholera and other diseases.

Scene of an accident at Uselu in Benin City recently.