Kogi State Ministry of Environment has donated a public toilet to Isanlu Community in Yagba Local Government Area in a bid to reduce open defecation.
Commissioner of Environment, Chief Victor Omofaiye while commissioning the project said the toilet is a ventilated improved pit toilet aimed at checking open defecation at the rural areas.
Chief Victor Omofaiye, Kogi State Commissioner of Environment, Hon. Abdulrazak Ijagbemi, Chairman Yagba East LGA
According to him, diseases such as Cholera, Typhoid Fever, Diarrhea and so on keep re-emerging in the state as a result of poor Personal and Environmental Hygiene.
He said the building of the toilet was to promote good Sanitation especially in rural communities in line with global best practice of tackling diseases.
One Health Approach gives priority to Environmental Health and Sanitation encouraging partners on Human Health, Environmental Health and Animal Health by providing public infrastructures such as Toilet Facilities to eliminate and combat epidemic diseases in the community.
The Commissioner appealed to people of Isanlu to take advantage of the toilet to reduce sicknesses caused as a result of defecating in public places.
Now that Government has fulfilled this aspect by providing this Toilet Facility, the same measures has been extended to some other LGAs, I will love to encourage most especially our women, children and youths to make best use of this Toilet and avoid open defecation.
“It is not enough to build facility like this without encouraging good maintenance and promoting good Sanitation practices in the community. If you join the Government to promote a healthy environment; issues like deaths among children, pregnant women, medical expenses due to disease outbreaks will be reduced and eliminated. He added.
He reiterated the commitment of the State government in providing a healthy environment and infrastructures that will continue to promote healthy living of the people.
