By John Ighodaro
CALABAR — About 277 communities have received sanitation interventions in Cross River State as part of efforts to fast-track the achievement of the state sanitation target of 85% sanitation coverage by 2015.

Governor Liyel Imoke of  the state disclosed this in a welcome address on the occasion of the national round table conference on Community-Led Total Sanitation, CLTS, holding in Calabar.

The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Mr Efiok Cobham said, “today, 277 communities have received sanitation interventions through CLTS within the combined efforts of the FGN/EU/UNICEF Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme, WSSSRP, and the state scaling up efforts.”

“Out of this number, 121 communities and eight council wards are now Open Defecation Free, ODF, with 8,112 household latrines completed, while Yakurr Local Government Area is at the verge of becoming the first ODF LGA in the state.”

These achievements, according to him, “were recorded between late 2008 and now,  since the piloting and scaling up of CLTS in the state.”

He declared a statewide CLTS campaign as part of efforts towards fast-tracking the achievement of the state sanitation target of 85% sanitation coverage by 2015.

Also speaking, a Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) ambassador, Engr. Ebele Okeke vowed to “provide the necessary advocacy both at Federal, State and LGA levels to enable Nigeria enjoy enhanced Sanitation in order to meet up and even surpass the MDG targets.”

According to him, “it is instructive to note that in the strictest traditional sense, Nigerians used to be very clean. Dirty habits and individuals were openly criticized and sanctioned. Sanitation consciousness was further strengthened through the institutionalization of house_to_house inspection by sanitary inspectors.

“However, over the years, these traditional practices and values gave way to environmental indisipline and indifference, whereby the average Nigerian today litters his or her environment, passes feaces in open places and bushes.

It is time to go back to the old path and embrace our values of cleanliness and stop the practice of such indiscriminate disposal of open defecation, urination and other poor hygiene practices.”