No fewer than six political wards in Ona-Ara Local government area have been certified open defecation-free (ODF) by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, on Monday.
Moreso two political wards in Egbeda local government area have also been certified open defecation-free by UNICEF.
This development was made known by the Chairman, Oyo State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, RUWASSA, Hon. Babalola Afobaje, during a pre-event walk to mark the 2024 World Toilet Day Celebration in Ibadan on Monday.
According to him, before 2022, only 10 per cent of households in Ona-Ara LGA had access to toilets, and many practiced open defecation.
Afobaje said the Oyo State Government has the goal of ending open defecation in the nooks and crannies of the State by 2028 by launching its Roadmap to ODF.
He was optimistic that each step taken brings the state closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for all in the State.
“On this World Toilet Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to transforming lives through safe sanitation. Together, we can ensure that every person in Oyo State, regardless of their background, has access to a toilet they can use with dignity and safety.”
He further noted that the strategic objective of Oyo State Open Defecation Free (ODF) Roadmap is to eliminate open defecation and ensure equitable sanitation and hygiene (including hand-washing) services for all by 2028 in households, institutions and public places (schools, health facilities, workplaces, markets, motorparks and others) in all urban, small-town, and rural communities of the State.
He noted that through the successful implementation of Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in the six political wards in Ona-ara LGA, the number of households with toilets increased from 10,422 to 32,658.
Afobaje said to achieve the Roadmap plan, the State partnered with UNICEF and the Organization adopted three (3) LGAs of the State namely, Ona-Ara, Egbeda and Ibarapa-East LGAs to serve as pilots for Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to ODF communities.
The approach which involves triggering and monitoring of communities, training of SMEs and Masons to become Toilet Business Owners (TBOs) that construct affordable and durable toilets, introduction of a soft loan scheme called Sanitation Revolving Fund (SRF) for households’ toilets construction stated in Ona-ra and Egbeda since Oct., 2022 while the 3rd LGA, Ibarapa-East was just added this year.
According to Afobaje, the 2 LGAs that started first are at various stages of becoming ODF, saying “Ona-Ara has 6 of its 11 Wards ODF, Egbeda has 2 ODF Wards while the 2 LGAs have lots of ODF communities.”
World Toilet Day is dedicated to highlighting the importance of safe sanitation and advocating for accelerated action to ensure equitable access for all. This year’s celebration is under the meaningful theme, “Toilet: A Place for Peace” which resonates deeply with our mission to promote sanitation and hygiene in our beloved State.
Highlighting the importance of toilets, Afobaje said Toilets provide a private and safe space, especially for women and girls, reducing risks of violence and restoring dignity.
“Safe toilets for all by 2030’ is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6: 1&2 – but the world is seriously off track, as about 3.5 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation, including 419 million who practice open defecation worldwide. As at 2021, more than 53% of 9.4 Million projected populations of Oyo State still practice open defecation”, he said.
He applauded UNICEF, Lagos Field Office for its unwavering technical and funding supports and collaboration in advancing our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programs in the State.
“Together, we are addressing one of the most fundamental human rights: access to clean, safe and dignified toilets by all.”
“Our efforts in the 3 LGAs are yielded positive results, but we all know that there is still much more work to be done.”
Afobaje said through UNICEF’s assistance, the Oyo State government has built the capacities of WASH staff at the State and LGA level.
His words, “Open defecation is steadily decreasing in the pilot LGAs and we are committed to eradicating it entirely in the State by 2028. As we gather here today, let us remember that many of our population still lack access to safe, improved sanitation and the impacts are profound—affecting health, education and economic outcomes. . Therefore, the State needs to work five times harder in order to achieve this goal.”
Afobaje added that the Government has constructed new and rehabilitated many solar and hand-pump boreholes as well as model toilets in schools, solar and hand-pump boreholes in healthcare centers and vulnerable communities in the 3 pilot LGAs.
UNICEF Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) specialist, Mr. Monday Johnson, declared that UNICEF, in collaboration with OYORUWASSA, has a revolving loan in place to help community members construct toilets and for the political wards to maintain their open defecation-free status.
He urged everyone in the LGA to become advocates for ending open defecation and called for a bylaw to be enacted to ensure that in every council in Nigeria, any person that is defecating in the open is sanctioned.
Earlier in the week, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural resources, Arc. Abdulmojeed Mogbonjubola called on the general public to henceforth imbibe the culture of positive attitude towards ending open defecation.
He charged marketers, schools households and other stakeholders, to always chart a better cause for sanitation practice for the utilization of Clean and safe toilets.
This year’s event, themed “Toilet: A Place for Peace” took off, with a Roadshow and Sensitization campaign at Oojo Market Roundabout, Ibadan, to spread awareness and encourage every resident to support the efforts of government at improving public health in the State.
He highlighted that toilet is more than just a necessity, but a symbol of health, safety and respect.