Stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector have advocated the provision of improved toilets for females and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in public places in Bauchi State.
The call is contained in a communique signed by Mr Barde Gonsis at the end of a one-day validation meeting on the assessment of toilets in public places, on Saturday in Bauchi.
The communique said the State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA) validated the assessment report and expressed readiness to fast-track sustainable implementation of the User-Friendly Toilets programme.
It said the Agency in partnership with WaterAid Nigeria would construct improved toilets in motor parks and markets across the state.
“The project will favour women, girls and PWDs to improve hygiene, sanitation and dignity of women to be able to utilise it without difficulties,” it said.
The communique said the validation meeting was conducted with consultants who supported the assessment process at 54 public toilets in six local government areas of the state
The exercise, it said, supported by WaterAid was conducted in collaboration between the BASEPA and the Women Development Association for Self-Sustenance (WODASS).
It listed the councils to include Katagum, Shira, Alkaleri, Ningi, Misau and Bauchi, adding that the exercise aimed at promoting gender-friendly toilets to end open defecation in the state.
“The strategy of partnership with the government is to support the process through sustainability and ownership as well as inclusion through government policies.
“Toilets must be female friendly and details the essential desirable features needed to make it so”.
The communique also called for increased gender sensitivity in town planning on sanitation to change narratives to achieve female-friendly toilets in the state.
The call is coming barely two months after WikkiTimes in an investigative report discovered several communities in Bauchi continue to grapple with the persistent presence of human waste and the looming threat of deadly diseases despite the Federal Government’s and UNICEF’s assertion of Open Defecation-Free (ODF) Certification in the areas.
