- Humanitarian bodies mark World Water Day
From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
An estimated five million people in the three northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe affected by over a decade of insurgency, lack access to clean water.
North East Coordinator of Water Sanitation and Hygiene Sector Francois Bellet disclosed this at an event in Maiduguri on Tuesday to mark World Water Day.
“Five million people in northeast Nigeria are still in need of water, sanitation and hygiene,” Bellet said.
He noted that safe drinking water was key to addressing some vulnerable conditions including prevention of disease outbreaks. He said the region must ensure women, girls and children do not go far from their homes before accessing clean water.
Bellet said 1.6 million people were assisted with safe drinking water in Borno State last year through the WASH intervention. He said the WASH sector in the North East consists of 42 humanitarian organisations.
WASH is an emergency response and intervention by humanitarian bodies to provide access to clean water and build the capacity of people affected by conflict to maintain hygiene in their surroundings.
UNICEF Chief of Borno Field Office, Phuong Nguyen, in her remark, said access to clean water is a fundamental human right and not just a privilege.
She said millions of children and families in North East Nigeria still lack access to safe water. This she said, encourages open defecation which UNICEF has been working to address.
Borno State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) General Manager, Dr Muhammad Aliyu said the theme for the 2024 World Water Day; Watee for Peace captures the role of water as a potent tool to foster peace.
“Water availability fosters peace while scarcity of it can incite conflict on various scales,” the GM represented by the agency’s director of suppliers, Hajiya Hauwa Anas, said.