Benue launches Clean Family Campaign

From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi

The Benue State Government on Thursday handed over 35 permanent hand washing facilities, 100 semi permanent hand washing facilities as well as 12,500 hygiene packs to some underserved communities in the state.

General Manager, Benue State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (BERWASSA), Mrs. Torkwase Ikyaator disclosed this during the official Launch of the Clean Family Campaign in the state.

While noting that good hygiene is the first line of defence against infectious diseases like the coronavirus disease, Ikyaator stressed that access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure makes the practice of good hygiene difficult with attendant negative consequences on health, livelihoods, gender equality and socio economic outcomes.

“It is against this background that we are launching the Clean Family Campaign in Benue State in collaboration with WaterAid Nigeria. The Campaign aims to motivate communities and healthcare facilities to practice specific hygiene behaviour.”

The BERWASSA boss further explained that the campaign hopes to empower and encourage people to practice good hygiene using context specific hygiene promotional touchpoints such as television, billboards and radio while also providing hygiene facilities and kits to support the practice of recommended hygiene behaviour.

She expressed the hope that the launch of the campaign would contribute to achieving the objectives of the state’s open Defecation free roadmap and set the state on the track towards attaining the open Defecation free status by 2025.

On his part, State Program Lead, Water Aid Nigeria, Terkimbi Tom said the program aligned with the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet campaign which was launched by the federal government in November 2019 with the aim of ending open Defecation in Nigeria by 2025.

Tom revealed that Benue is one of the six states of the federation where the campaign has been launched even as he commended the state government for providing marching funds for the project.

Highpoint of the event was the official launch of the campaign and commissioning of the hand washing facilities by the Wife of the state Governor, Mrs. Eunice Ortom.