World Toilet Day: Hypo gladdens delights residents with toilets rescue project

As the International Toilet Day was being celebrated worldwide, the community of Okota in Lagos played host to the Hypo Toilet Cleaner team as they commissioned three public toilets to serve the people around that neighborhood and to register in their minds the importance of maintaining not only a clean toilet but a germ free one.

The formal commissioning exercise was implemented with support from the Lagos Ministry of Environment and Water resources and few celebrities like Iyabo Ojo, Funny Bone and the Iya Oloja of Kiibati Mall, Okota who were all present to further sensitize the public on the risks of improper toilet use and its maintenance.

Poor sanitation contaminates drinking-water sources, rivers, beaches and food crops, spreading deadly diseases among the wider population. According to the World Health Organisation, (WHO), every minute a child dies because someone is not using the toilet and when people in a community lack safe toilets, everyone’s health is threatened.

Speaking, brand manager, Hypo Toilet Cleaner, Chidera Anele, said, “Two years ago, we started an activity called Hypo Toilet Rescue because we recognise that thousands of Nigerians live with unclean toilets. We started going to different homes to upgrade their toilets free of charge. We go to these homes and look at their toilets and we transform it.

“This year alone, we have done over 50 toilet rescues and we intend to scale this up soon. Nigerians need more toilets but when the toilets we have are not properly managed, it is also a disaster, which is where we come in, educating consumers about toilet hygiene and the need to use toilet cleaners in place of detergents,” she said.

It is important to take cognizance of the proper and effective way to clean the toilet because a lot of people think they can use detergent in cleaning their toilets. Whereas detergents contain some cleaning agents but what they do is they reduce water density and help you remove dirt, but detergents cannot kill germs. Scientists say there are millions of bacteria in a toilet, so for a toilet, we all need to be very deliberate about what is used to clean them. Detergents are for clothes.

Representing the Lagos Ministry of Environment and Water resources was the Deputy Director, Sanitation Services Department, Mrs. Balogun, she stated that the theme for the year 2021 World Toilet Day, Valuing Toilets, is a clarion call for all stakeholders to prioritize sanitation and hygiene, as this is the cheapest and easiest method of combating spread of diseases and control of other environmental crisis.