Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, and his Health counterpart, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, yesterday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining their specific roles toward ending open defecation in the country.
Signing the MOU in Abuja, Adamu said there is an urgent need to collectively change the ugly narrative of the growing mortality rate arising from Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) issues. He expressed hope that collective engagement and collaboration between the ministries, when sustained, would improve access to WASH services in the country.
“The issues of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene are cross-cutting issues that impact on different sectors, including health, education and economy, among others,” said Adamu.
The minister explained that the Health WASH Programme was designed to identify the WASH needs and bridge the WASH service gap across healthcare facilities with focus on Primary Health Care (PHC).
“Through this initiative, the Federal Government is leading by example in the provision of adequate WASH services to its own health facilities,” he added.
Ehanire, on his part, said the programme had been a major game-changer in the health sector, stressing that access to potable water would drastically reduce the increasing mortality rate figures arising from poor hygiene.
According to him, the collaboration is apt, as the challenges facing the health sector are inter-related with issues of WASH services and, therefore, called for collaboration to improve the sector.
