Malawi: Minister launches sanitation campaign in Blantyre

Minister of Irrigation and Water Development Richie Muheya launched a sanitation and hygiene promotion campaign meant to sensitize the public to the importance of using toilets in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre. The campaign was launched with funding from the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program-Africa through Blantyre and Lilongwes water boards.

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Source: Caroline Somanje, The Nation, 28 March 2011

Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan: cholera claims eight lives

Poor hygiene exacerbated by growing piles of rubbish and the current political crisis are all factors that haelth experts and residents say contributed to a dry-season cholera outbreak in Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire. So far eight people out of 61 infected have died.

The first case – in Abidjan’s Adjamé District (a poor neighbourhood that has seen severe post-election violence in recent weeks) – was registered in mid-January [2011]; the major rains ended in November [2010]. Cholera has also affected the district of Williamsville.

“Across this region [West Africa] there are pockets of poverty where hygiene is poor and we see occasional outbreaks,” Mamadou D. Ball, WHO representative in Côte d’Ivoire, told IRIN. “The cholera bacterium is always present.”

Sandrine Touré, a health assistant in Williamsville, said she often sees children eating just after playing in rubbish. She added that many people, even in Abidjan, have no access to safe drinking water.

Since the political deadlock, household garbage is no longer being collected.

Even if families know that poor sanitation is linked to infectious disease, cholera was not much on people’s minds this time of year, said Soumaïla Traoré. “There is negligence in some communities. With the piles of rubbish people knew the threat of illness was real. But no one talked of cholera in this period.”

UNICEF and WHO are working with local health authorities to treat patients and promote better hygiene. advise communities on prevention. They are providing soap, cholera treatment kits and posters with prevention messages.

Source: IRIN, 31 Jan 2011

Ghana: Sanitation is dignity indeed!

Kwaku, a 21 year-old man, born and bred in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, had lived all his life in one of the luxurious mining bungalows.

After obtaining a Diploma in Information Technology at the Koforidua Polytechnic, he decided he would stay with a relative in Accra to seek a job and probably greener pastures. Kwaku was lucky to have a cousin staying at Akweteman, a suburb of Accra, so his dream to come and stay in Accra really did materialize.

It was one room, probably a boy’s quarters to the main building, with about 10 different families living in the house. On the compound of the house was a cemented structure with four sides used as a bathroom, which all the 10 families used. Even those who were not tenants in the house sometimes came and bathed there. To his surprise, he realized that there was no toilet in the house, the reason being that the toilet was full and nobody was prepared to pay for it to be emptied, so the landlady broke down the place.

Very early in the morning, Kwaku would walk from Akweteman to the main Achimota Market where a public toilet was situated. He had to be in a queue for hours to empty his bowels. And this wasn’t for free, as a patron of the public toilet would have to buy toilet roll or newspaper to clean himself. When you get the chance to enter the toilet, only half of the problem is solved. Kwaku says, “There are faeces on some toilet seats and on the floor and one has to employ special acrobatics to empty your bowels.”

Kwaku’s situation makes real the celebration of World Toilet Day, a day set aside by the World Toilet Organization of the United Nations to highlight the need for all households in the world to have access to hygienic toilets and to critically consider various sanitation issues. This year’s celebration, which falls on Friday, 19 November 2010, is on the theme: “Sanitation is Dignity, Hygiene is Health.”

The celebration of World Toilet Day in Ghana was met with mixed feelings. The first time it was announced on a local radio station in Accra some presenters actually made fun of it. To some people it is an unnecessary day to celebrate. However, after hearing Kwaku’s story, the realization that a country should pay attention to toilet issues becomes real.

In Ghana about half of the population is estimated to be using shared toilets or do not have toilets in their homes. Shared toilets refer to a situation where there may be a house with about 10 different families, as in Kwaku’s case, who share the same toilet. There are still some households in Accra, who use the pan latrine, and there are households who do not have water and therefore are not able to flush their toilets.

Many questions are raised when it comes to the issues of sanitation. Some people have raised legitimate concerns like, “What are the processes involved in getting a good toilet in one’s home?” Some have said it is very expensive to get a good or proper toilet in one’s home. “Is it right, for instance, to call on government to help or subsidize the processes involved in owning a toilet?”

Major T. N.K. Awuah (Rtd), Director of Metro Sewage Services, said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had given a one-year ultimatum to businesses and households in the Metropolis who did not have toilets to put in place toilet facilities at their premises or be prosecuted. “Therefore, households and businesses that do not have toilet facilities come October, 2011 will be prosecuted,” he said.

The African Development Bank under the Accra Sewage Improvement Project (ASIP) is targeting 4,200 households to support them with toilet facilities. Under ASIP, households would be made to apply for a financial facility to enable them to own a toilet in their homes and pay back in monthly instalments so that other people would also benefit from the money which is a revolving fund.

Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, last year went to Nima, a suburb of Accra, in the early hours of the morning, as they queued to empty their bowels and described the situation as “unacceptable”.

Source: Hannah Asomaning, Web Ghana /Ghana News Agency, 17 November 2010

South Africa: Chatty pupils ready for ‘Big Squat’ to help observe World Toilet Day 2010

Astra Primary School in Chatty are taking up the plight of those without toilets on Friday when they perform a “Big Squat” for one minute to experience what 2.6-billion people across the world do every day.

World Toilet Day, which falls on Friday, 19 November is intended to make people aware that an estimated 2.5-billion people around the world do not have proper ablution facilities. The day was started by the World Toilet Organisation. This year people are asked to squat for one minute to understand what life is like for people without a proper toilet.

Astra Primary school in Chatty has observed the day for the past two years to promote hygiene among its pupils. Grade 6 teacher Margaret Fillis started the hygiene campaign at her school after receiving an assignment during her studies at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. “I had to find a way to bring about change in schools,” Fillis said. She decided to find out how sanitation in schools could be improved. During her research she discovered the World Toilet Day initiative. Fillis realised it would be a good idea to change the hygiene system at her school.

Astra primary has since upgraded its toilets. Grade 6 pupil Taylor Marks, 11, said: “I feel proud about what the school has achieved.” Another Grade 6 pupil, Jarred Blaauw, 12, said: “I think the renovation has improved things. I do feel more hygienic.” Fillis said: “On World Toilet Day the Water Board will come to the school to educate the children about basic hygiene.” “Promoting health in schools goes hand in hand with sporting and academic achievement.”

Source: Lerenzo Francis, The Herald Online, 17 November 2010

Nigeria: 425 communities ‘open defecation free’

No fewer than 425 communities have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) in the country, the Chairman, sub-technical Committee on Water Supply and Quality Control, Mr Usang Bassey, said in Jos, the Plateau state capital.

Bassey told the National Technical Committee on Water Resources meeting in Jos, that the declaration was a result of the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CTLS) programme being implemented in the country.

He said CLTS was gaining acceptability among the implementers adding that 30 states were implementing the programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme was introduced by WaterAid in some communities in Benue state and it had achieved considerable success.

The programme focuses mainly on achieving sustainable behavioural change through motivation and mobilisation of communities to understand the risks associated with open defecation.

According to Bassey, more than 2,654 communities are presently implementing the CLTS and 425 communities have been declared ODF.

“There is an increase in CLTS coverage from 1,887 communities and 299 ODF communities in December 2009 to 2,654 communities and 425 ODF communities in June 2010.

“The National Task Group on Sanitation has carried our monitoring and verification visits to 84 communities in 28 states that have attained the status,’’ he said.

Bassey said the monitoring and verification exercise revealed that CLTS had been adopted in 25 states out of the 28 states visited and was contributing greatly to scaling up building of latrines in the rural areas.

He said there were a lot of successes on CLTS implementation which could help further improve the situation, but were not being captured.

“There are variations in the type of CLTS being implemented across the country and a big gap between triggered communities and the number that have achieved ODF,’’ Bassey said.

He said sanitation should be treated as a priority in its own right and not as an add-on to more attractive water supply programmes.

“CLTS is being adopted as one of the sustainable approaches to attain the MDGs within the sanitation sub-sector.

“An annual national roundtable on CLTS has been instituted and Katsina state is expected to host in 2011,’’ he added.

Source: People’s Daily, 10 November 2010

Ghana: Two NGOs present assistance package to Talensi-Nabdam District Assembly

World Vision Ghana and Ghana Rural Water Project, two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have presented a number of items worth about GH 11,000.00, to Talensi -Nabdam District Education Office, to be distributed to some schools in the area.

The items include dustbins, hand washing containers, cartons of soap and a quantity of towels.

The District Chief Executive, Mrs Vivian Anarfo received the items on behalf of the District Director of Education, Mr Francis Ayaaba.

The Area Programme Manager of World Vision, Mr Norbert Akolbila said the items were meant to educate the beneficiary pupils and their teachers to be abreast of social challenges such as poor sanitation and its related health issues.

He said the beneficiary schools have been provided with boreholes and exposed to health education.

Mr Ayaaba commended the NGOs for their assistance package.

Source: GNA, 1 November 2010

Kenya: hand washing drive aims to break Guinness world record

Kenya has played host to a number of events to mark global health days but one of this year’s events is set to make history and probably break records.

If the application for certification turns successful, thanks to Unilever’s Lifebuoy brand’s latest event to mark the Global Hand Washing Day, Kenya may be awarded the coveted Guinness World Record for hand washing.

In an attempt to break a similar record in a span of two consecutive years, Lifebuoy in partnership with Ecotact brought together 18,035 children drawn from various primary schools and a total of 1,300 adults in a hand washing drive held on October 15, 2010.

This year’s event held at Thirime Primary School in Kikuyu constituency saw all the participants wash hands from the same place with 21,000 bars of soap and 10,000 litres of water.

Health reports

“Similar competitions have been held before through the Lifebuoy brand. Last year, India was certified by the Guinness World Record Committee for having attracted the highest number of people washing their hands at the same location. This year’s event held in Kenya is awaiting certification,” said Stephanie Nganga, Lifebuoy brand manager.

“Lifebuoy brand has attempted to break Guinness World Record (TM) three times now after holding events in India, Bangladesh and this year in Kenya. But the event at Bangladesh was not certified as it failed to meet the requirements set by the committee,” adds Ms Nganga.

Locally, close to 30,000 lives are lost annually to diarrhoeal diseases. Local health reports have cited lack of proper hand washing as having contributed to the surging numbers of diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases, especially among children.

In an attempt to maintain its market presence, Lifebuoy has spearheaded hand washing campaign initiatives through partnerships with both public and private sectors. The latest of these was launched earlier in the year and was dubbed alliance for the promotion of hand washing with soap.

The alliance brings together stakeholders from various sectors, including hotels, schools, medical practitioners and aims at complementing the government’s efforts to promote hand washing.

Through the Ministry of Public Health and sanitation, the government has been running a national hand washing campaign that saw the inclusion of clean hand washing lessons in the primary school curricula to curb diseases fuelled by poor hygiene.

Source: Immaculate Karambu, Business Daily, 27 October 2010

Ghana: Kpando District inaugurates several projects

Scores of development projects in the areas of education, water, sanitation and road rehabilitation, valued at GHC282,980, were inaugurated at Kpando, at the weekend.

Six bore holes with hand-pumps were provided for five communities to serve them with potable water. Additionally, institutional latrines were constructed for eight basic schools, five of which are private schools. Two concrete water tanks were also built for the beneficiaries. Also, about 2,400 free school uniforms were distributed among 37 deprived primary schools in the 10 Circuits of the district.

The projects were funded through the Local Service Delivery Governance Programme (LSDGP), the Road Fund, under the auspices of Feeder Road, and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) in collaboration with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) and the Kpando District Assembly.

Mr Francis Ganyaglo, Kpando District Chief Executive, told beneficiary institutions that the gesture was to improve on the basic amenities to raise their standards of living towards the realization of the “Better Ghana” agenda. He said the provision of water and sanitation facilities was to inculcate the habit of hand washing in the students to accelerate the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Ms Dora Agorsor, Kpando District Director of Education, commended the government and development partners for the provision of the facilities and school uniforms to deprived pupils. She entreated teachers in the district to work extra hard towards raising the standards of education. The head teachers and representatives of the School Management Committees of the various beneficiary institutions praised the government and the Kpando District Assembly for the facilities and pledged to maintain them for present and future users. Master Felix Agbenyo, a pupil of Abanu Primary School and a beneficiary of the free school uniform, thanked the government for its initiative, which he said was an incentive for him to look decent and concentrate on studying.

Source: GNA, 26 October 2010

Kenya: school children attempt to break world handwashing record

School children at Thirime primary school, Kikuyu, Kenya on Global Handwashing Day. Photo: Thomas Mukoya-Reuters

Close to 20,000 school children and adults took part in a handwashing campaign in an attempt to establish a new Guinness World Record. They gathered at Thirime Primary School in Kikuyu on 15 October 2010 to mark Global Handwashing Day.

Education Permanent Secretary James Ole Kiyiapi announced that 19,352 people, including 18,302 children and 1,050 adults washed their hands during the event. If recognised, this would break the previous record for the most number of people washing hands at a single venue set by 15,150 students in Chennai, India, in 2009. Plan Bangladesh and partners claim to hold the record for the most number of people washing hands at multiple locations, when 52,970 school children gathered across the country in October 2009.

Namibia: Namibians to observe Third Global Handwashing Day 15 October 2010

Every year, more than three-comma-five million children worldwide do not live to celebrate their 5th birthday because of diarrhoea and pneumonia.

In Namibia, of the children who die before their fifth birthday, over 58 per cent die because of pneumonia and diarrhoea due to poor sanitation.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says in a statement that there are no hand washing facilities in 34 per cent of Namibian schools, while 35 per cent of schools have no toilets.

Two years ago, the Health Ministry, the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKlein and UNICEF signed a memorandum of understanding to kick-start the implementation of the National Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Campaign in Namibia.

The observance of Global Handwashing Day today is part of that initiative.

Source: NBC News, 13 October 2010

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