Kwara State flags off the Clean Kwara Campaign to end open defecation

Aondosoo Labe | @WASHstories |

The Kwara State Government on September 21, 2020, flagged-off the “Clean Kwara” Campaign and Commemoration of the Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs at 5), in Ilorin, the state capital.

Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Ms. Elizabeth Jeiyol, stated that “to the WSSCC, the goal to end Open Defecation in Nigeria is at the forefront of its WASH targets,” and reiterated that coming on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic; the Clean Kwara Campaign further underlines the need to address the challenges occasioned by gendered access to WASH services and facilities. She also called on individuals, CSOs and key stakeholders in the private and public sectors to drive behavioral change in order to meet the campaign’s major objective – which is to end Open Defecation in the state and also meet the targets of SDG 6. 

Ms. Elizabeth Jeiyol giving her remarks

Furthermore, Ms. Jeiyol revealed that the WSSCC is evolving into the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF), which is a dedicated global fund large enough to invest in government-led programmes for real impact - to deliver at the scale required to achieve sanitation and hygiene leaving no one behind; and commended the Kwara State Government under His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for flagging-off the campaign to end Open Defecation in the state.

Cross River State inaugurates Technical Working Group on Menstrual Health and Hygiene

Aondosoo Labe | @WASHstories |

Cross River State has inaugurated her Technical Working Group (TWG) on Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH). The event was held on Monday, 28th September, 2020, in Calabar, the state capital. 

The primary mandate of the TWG is to coordinate activities on MHM in the state and also create sustainable platforms to break the silence on menstruation and ensure that women and girls practice safe menstruation – as part of efforts towards development and institutionalization of Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management (MHHM) at the state level.

                                         Ms. Elizabeth Jeiyol with the Honourable Commissioner of Women Affairs, Cross River State

In her keynote address, the National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Ms. Elizabeth Jeiyol, stated that “millions of girls worldwide have their schooling interrupted or terminated due to the adverse effects of menstruation – every day, hundreds of millions of women and girls menstruate, many without the facilities to manage their menstrual health safely; and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation for women and girls - as its resultant protocols of lockdowns, social distancing, movement restrictions, and handwashing, have all presented new challenges that have deepened pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems which have led to reduced access to menstrual products by women and girls and exacerbated Period Poverty that has further intensified experiences of stigma around periods.”

Ms. Jeiyol also revealed that the WSSCC is evolving into the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF), to deliver at the scale required to achieve sanitation and hygiene leaving no one behind. She further explained that the SHF is a dedicated global fund large enough to invest in government-led programmes for real impact; and aims to fill a gaping void in the international response to the sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health crisis and to give sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health a mechanism to take its response to a new level.

Furthermore, the National Coordinator commended the efforts of stakeholders in Cross River State and lauded the inauguration of a Technical Working Group for Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) as a positive step towards achieving safe menstruation for women and girls in Cross River State.