WATER SANITATION, HEALTH AND HYGIENE PROGRAM LOCATION: IBADAN, S.W NIGERIA Abstract :Current outbreaks of cholera and other water related diseases in some parts of Nigeria has again bring to the forefront the need for appropriate methods to tackle and prevent the spread of such diseases. Even though efforts are being made by government agencies, local organizations and NGOs, the safe water supply and basic sanitation in many schools in Ibadan other major cities in Nigeria remains poor. Large numbers of both urban and rural schools and health centers lack access to adequate sanitary facilities like latrines and hand washing facilities. It is our belief that if the local communities are aware of the dangers and threat posed by waterborne and sanitation related diseases, they will be more equipped both technically and morally to mitigate the spread of such diseases. This will also enhance a common front to fight against the outbreaks of such disease as cholera, dysentery and diarrhea as knowledge gained from this project can be shared by households, communities and local levels. WATER INITIATIVES NIGERIA Start Date: March,2011
Project Title: Water Sanitation, Health and Hygiene Education in Local Communities in Ibadan South-West Nigeria Region: Ibadan, South West Nigeria, Africa Goal: To improve health and educational opportunities for children, women and communities in Ibadan through implementation of safe water use and appropriate sanitation practices Expected Start Date: March 2011 Duration: Continuous Status: Needs educational and teaching aids materials from donors for the project
Background Information Current outbreaks of cholera and other water related diseases in some parts of Nigeria has again bring to the forefront the need for appropriate methods to tackle and prevent the spread of such diseases. Traditionally, health and hygiene education in schools in Nigeria focused on covering theory and memorization of facts from the official school curriculum, rather than on strengthening hygiene practices. The Government provided formal, culturally non-specific education that has failed to generate interest and how to eliminate spread of water borne diseases particularly in remote rural areas. Over the past years, these topics in schools have been largely been disregarded and basic school curriculums do not accommodate enough teaching hours on such topics as sanitation and appropriate hygiene. On the other hand, because of the increasing water shortages and infrastructure problems mentioned in many of cities, many schools are spending time and energy just to collect water for daily survival. Even though efforts are being made by government agencies, local organizations and NGOs, the safe water supply and basic sanitation in many schools in Ibadan other major cities in Nigeria remains poor. Large numbers of both urban and rural schools and health centers lack access to adequate sanitary facilities like latrines and hand washing facilities. Even if they have water supply to run these facilities are epileptic. It is sad to note that water and environmental sanitation in rural areas is not a priority on the agenda of many local authorities. Very large percentage of the total population had no access to proper sewerage systems. Pit latrines are the commonly used sanitation facility. Poor maintenance of these facilities, especially at public places as schools and health centers has resulted in unacceptable hygienic conditions. Under these conditions, schools and public places become unsafe where diseases are transmitted. One of the major problems faced by school age children is infection by parasites and flukes. These and other diseases, often sanitation and hygiene related, obviously contribute to absenteeism, but there is a more hidden aspect: Poor health of children affects their ability to learn and therefore influences their perspective in life and women are unable to partake in economic activities to improve their living standards and those of their families as large number of hours are lost to treating these water borne diseases which if not properly treated can even lead to deaths. Good health at school and public places such as markets is essential for now and an investment for the future. Working with Children and women on basic hygiene and sanitation is very important: Most children are eager to learn. Schools can stimulate and support positive behavioral change in children additional learning at home can improve their understanding of water and sanitation Children and women have important roles in household chores related to hygiene
Children may question existing practices in the household and become agents of change within their families and communities. Women are mostly responsible for household practices on water, sanitation and hygiene Children are future parents. What they learn at school is likely to be passed on their own children Target area and groups Primary school and secondary school children in the target area Community women Religious associations, market associations, and other related community organizations with the aim of outreach to the communities Community leaders, general public in targeted communities Programme strategies: The development of life-skills Outreach to families and communities Life-Skills Development: a. Training of the ad-hoc staff involved, using the, so-called, cascade model. Which implies that part of the staff will be trained, passing the knowledge on to other colleagues, school children, women and indirectly the communities b. Teachers and volunteers in the target areas will be trained in life-skills education focusing on, at least, the following themes: Personal hygiene Drinking water Safe extra disposal Environmental conservation (including recycling and re-use of water). In addition several activities, such as Clean-up days, puppet plays and video training will be directly with the school children. For each center, an officer will be provided to educate the local communities on basics of water and appropriate sanitation. Also basic education will be provided on water management and simple technologies for treatment of water before consumption. Collaborations will be made with the community schools, market associations, local residents, as well as, with the school children, primary health care staff and representatives of the local government authorities. This is with a view to create far reaching measures that will make positive and sustainable results in eliminating the prevalence of waterborne diseases in our local communities.
Water Initiative Nigeria in consultation with Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water and environment shall develop a adequate curriculum to cover the basics of safe drinking water, appropriate sanitation methods, water resources conservation, how to handle emergency situations, simple technologies for household water treatment among others. For the operation and maintenance of the facilities, mechanisms will be developed for the purchasing of materials need for teaching, demonstrations, soap, towels, etc. Outreach to Families and Communities In all stages of the implementation of the programme, children, women and community associations will be involved. To strengthen the activities, water and sanitation groups will be simultaneously established in local communities to create public awareness campaign on the importance of the project in reducing the prevalence of waterborne and sanitation related diseases in our communities and the benefits the communities stand to gain in terms of overall health and economic benefits that can result from a healthy society. Methods of implementation The main method to be employed in this project is to create awareness on how to prevent and manage waterborne diseases. It is a common knowledge that knowledge is wealth. This will be actuated by establishment of learning centers with different local government areas in Ibadan. In conjunction with the local authorities and Ministry of Education, we shall identified suitable centers at local communities. Ad-hoc staff will be recruited from Ministry of Education and Health. Volunteers groups from National Youth Service Program will also be solicited. The mode of operation will be one period per week on weekend. The choice of weekend is based on the cultural orientation of the people in Ibadan. Weekend is always reserved to do non-commercial activities and many people can be available to attend extracurricular activities. Management, implementation and sustainability The implementation of the programme will be coordinated by Water Initiatives Nigeria (WIN) under the supervision of a project coordinator with the office in Ibadan. The project will involve no construction of facilities as it is designed to make use of existing classrooms in public schools in the target communities. This is to reduce the overhead cost of building centers. The activities will focus mainly on educational and awareness creation for the local communities in area of clean and safe water and appropriate sanitation. It will be a continuous process simultaneously taken place at different centers. The programme will be supported by grants and donations of educational part, volunteering, and assistance from other agencies and well meaning individuals. The design and implementation of the project will be self-sustained as it will involve very little cost to run but with prospect for huge impact. Once the programme has been implemented, the structure in each center will be transformed
into a continuous community water and sanitation learning center. With technical support of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health the programme can become self-sustainable after 15 months. Conclusion It is our belief that if the local communities are aware of the dangers and threat posed by waterborne and sanitation related diseases, they will be more equipped both technically and morally to mitigate the spread of such diseases. This will also enhance a common front to fight against the outbreaks of such disease as cholera, dysentery and diarrhea as knowledge gained from this project can be shared by households, communities and local levels. in both rural and urban communities. Moreover the success of such project can enhance development of national oriented programs that can lead to complete eradication of waterborne and water related diseases in Nigeria. Water Initiatives Nigeria