Alarming Rate of Death Caused by Open Defecation: Time to Act is Now by Abu Micheal

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It is very unfortunate that a child in Nigeria according to available data dies every two and a half minutes from diseases linked to open defecation. Those are silent deaths not reported by the media, and not the subject of public debate.

The time not to remain silent any longer especially in Kogi State is now as the rural settings of most local government areas of the state makes children vulnerable.

The death of young children due to open defecation is a clear reflection on the danger of open defecation which is a common practice in many towns and villages in our State, of course, it is a general problem nationwide.

Sadly, after years of advancement and civilization , the practice of open defecation is still prevalent in our society.

Recent studies have shown that out of about one billion people that practice open defecation worldwide, about 49 million are Nigerians while 60 million others reside in India.

It is however estimated that around 68 million Nigerians are likely to be added between now and 2016, if concerted efforts are not made to arrest the problem.

According to multiple indicator cluster survey (2011), Ekiti State contributes highest to open defecation practice with 60.8 percent followed by Plateau and Oyo States with 56.2 and 54.0 percent respectively. Abia has the lowest rate followed by Lagos at 1.2 and 2.0 percent respectively.

Kano State has 4.0 percent while Zamfara, Benue and Kwara have 9.8, 52.5 and 50.5 respectively. Unfortunately, Kogi State figure was not listed in the survey, but what ever is the figure, I am aware that having widely traveled the length and breadth of the state and with the knowledge of the peoples way of living, I find it uncomfortable to say the figures for Kogi may be scary. Thus it is my believe that the time to start reversing the trend is now.  Open Defecation is one of the fundamental aspects of sanitation that mirrors our under development as a nation and as a people.

It is a terrible practice with various consequences on human health, dignity and security, the environment, social and economic development. The profoundly damaging health and developmental consequences of this menace has often been overshadowed by other aspects of our socio-economic life that is also in decay.

Many people seem not to understand that the quality of our lives as human beings is substantially a reflection of the quality of the environment which we inhabit. The spread of numerous gastrointestinal and diarrhea diseases is associated with it, whether through direct contact with fecal matter via tainted food and water.

According to World Health Organization, 88 percent of diarrhea cases are attributable to poor excreta management.

Diarrhea according to study is the second largest killer of children below five years, only next to pneumonia, yet open defecation practice is common practice in our dear State and is not talked about. I equally feel pained that entering lokoja through Kabawa, the stench that greets you as well as the elderly people, young and old that openly defecate by the river bank lives much to be desired.

There is the force and an urgent need to break the silence on open defecation and give sanitation the priority attention it deserves in our national life.

Recently, I did an article on the need for awareness on having toilets in our houses as part of a sentitization efforts at the just concluded World Toilet Day held on 19th November, 2014. The comments and calls I got from across the State further informed the need to also write this article about the consequences we are likely to face as a people as a result of open defecation and the need for further enlightenment. Most contributors to my piece, attested to the fact that having modern toilets are alien to how the build in their villages, as well as how they live and defecate.

The contents of the recently developed national road map for the elimination of open defecation should be followed to the letter and adopted by the state government. It is heart warming that States such as Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta have already developed their respective road maps.

That Kogi State is a State with enlightened and educated people is a fact that cannot be denied, how well they have complied to say no to open defecation calls to mind the need for urgent action. Furthermore, with an administration that has made environmental sanitation and cleanliness a priority, the call for an urgent need to key into the developed national road map has therefore become very imperative as it will also complement the good work begun by the present administration.

Houses in some of our rural settings mostly  do not have toilets. While some of us would not denie the fact that we grew up in such situation in the villages way back then, one still wonders that it is the same old picture of people still defecating in nearby bushes, with the little ones having theirs around the kitchen overlooking mummy’s kitchen.

Nothing years after really seem to have changed. I can’t imagine having a modern toilet facility in Lokoja, only to openly defecate in the open in the villages while on holidays as an acceptable way of life, all because the importance attached to having befitting toilets in the rural areas are not seen as a priority by citizens.

As problems related to open defecation gain greater attention, the importance of broader WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) issues, such as access to clean drinking water, must gain attentions as well.

One of the ways to trigger this is for all in the country and in Kogi in particular to have functional rural water and sanitation agency that is well positioned to ensure that 2015 target of elimination of open defecation is maintained.

Every citizen of Kogi State must elect to live a dignified life through toilet revolution.

While Kogi State Government has commenced building public toilets in Kabawa areas of Lokoja and should be commended, the Onus also behooves on landlords to ensure they build toilets in the houses.

Similarly, the Ministry of Lands and Housing. the Town Planning Development Authority and the Ministry of Health must collaborate to ensure that landlords have well built toilets in the houses.

The various Health inspectors in the Ministry of Health and those with the Kogi State Waste Management Board must also intensify in their efforts of monitoring, and prosecute defaulters who do not have toilets and those caught in the act of open defecation.

The Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency, must equally rise to the occasion by ensuring that people are better enlightened on the dangers attached to open defecation.

An outbreak of an epidemic occasioned by open defecation cannot be imagined mostly with the lean resources available to the state to carry out other task as well as the capacities of our health institutions and personnel.

The watchwords therefore is to guard our loins by being proactive as a stitch in time may save so much.

Abu Micheal, sent in this piece from Lokoja.


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