Kebbi govt to redeem N218.2m counterpart fund for success of WASH – SSG
The Kebbi State Government says it will redeem its pledge of N218.2 million counterpart funding for the success of UNICEF water, sanitation and hygiene intervention in the state.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Babale Umar-Yauri, made this known at the first annual review meeting on improving sanitation hygiene and safe drinking water in North -West (IWASH) in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday.
The IWASH project is a three-year project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by UNICEF.
Kebbi govt to redeem N218.2m counterpart fund for success of WASH – SSG
UNICEF had, in 2021, launched a three-year project targeted at improving sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water in North-Western part of the country.
There focal Local Government Areas each from Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states are to be selected with 300,000 people.
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Umar-Yauri said,” said that Kebbi state has strengthened its rural water supply and sanitation agencies as well as directed the creation of WASH department in all the 21 local government areas.
“The local governments’ departments will be fully operational with the right caliber of staff.
“The state will also redeem its pledge of N218.2 million counterpart funding for the success of the intervention in the three selected local government areas of Arewa, Bagudo and Shanga LGAs .”
Umar-Yauri, represented by the Permanent Secretary state Ministry of Information and Culture, Alhaji Garba Hamisu-Zuru, urged the benefitting states and partners to work towards ensuring the success of the projects.
Also speaking, the Secretary to Zamfara State Government, Alhaji Kabir Balarabe, said that provision of drinkable water and hygiene were part of the security measures to the people at their respective areas.
He noted that,” In Zamfara state,since the commencement of the implementation of the project, there has been impressive improvement of drinkable water supply in the state.”
Balarabe urged all the stakeholders to put all hands on decks for the success of the WASH programme in the Northwest.
In his goodwill message, Alhaji Shuaibu Gwanda- Gobir, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Water Resources, represented by the state Director of Water, Alhaji Muhammad Bala, explained that the WASH programme had come into existence at the right time.
He stressed that what the three states needed now was how to sustain the programme.
In her remarks, the Chief of WASH UNICEF Nigeria, Mrs Jane Bevan, explained that the project was building community-centred approaches for delivery, operating and managing sustainable WASH services in rural areas.
“After a year of launching the project, our meeting today would reveal whether to us whether the project has put in place the needed infrastructure and support community efforts to eliminate open defecation, adopt proper hygiene behaviours, and improve water quality,” she said.
Bevan urged the states to improve on their budgetary allocation for sanitation, health and hygiene as well as ensure prompt payment of their counterpart funds.
