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.