2024 World Toilet Day: UNICEF Pushes For Safe, Hygienic Lavatory

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has pushed for access to safe and hygienic toilets.

Towards this end, the UN agency is empowering toilet business owners in Bauchi to reduce the effect of poor sanitation, in a bid to reduce the risk of life-threatening diseases.

This was stated by UNICEF Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Nuzhat Rafique while commemorating the 2024 World Toilet Day in Bauchi State, North-east Nigeria.

According to UNICEF, Safe and Hygienic Toilets are the foundation for good public health conditions, which are also vital to reducing diseases, protecting water sources, and promoting safety, especially for children, women, and girls.

In his presentation on Faecal Management, the Director General, Bauchi Environmental Protection Agency, said over 2.6 billion people worldwide require faecal sludge management to guarantee a healthy environment.

UNICEF performed a formal presentation on climate resilience and faecal sludge management equipment to the toilet business owners.

Mujahid Korau, a graduate of Quantity Survey, who is into the toilet business is

a beneficiary of the gesture.

He said it is a business that does not command the interest of entrepreneurs but has helped him earn a living and contribute towards providing a clean and healthy environment. 

UNICEF says open defecation is a major environmental problem and that safe and hygienic toilets play a crucial role in ensuring healthy communities, as one gram of human waste can carry millions of harmful bacteria.

(Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie)