By Victoria Ojeme, Abuja
As part of the effort to eliminate open defecation and  institutionalise proper hygienic culture in the Niger Delta region, the European Union (EU) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have entered into partnership to train no fewer than 35 facilitators on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in Delta State.

The programme,  expected to begin in Isoko South and Ndokwa Local Government Areas, has two pilot schemes in Delta State with the potential for reaching the remaining 23 local government areas.In a statement, the organisations said they would also sponsor a WASH Programme as part of the Niger Delta Support Programme in the state.”Implementation here started with Capacity Building i.e. the training of 35 facilitators on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).

CLTS is an innovative methodology for mobilising communities to completely eliminate open defecation (OD).”Communities are facilitated to conduct their own appraisal and analysis of open defecation (OD) and take their own action to become ODF (open defecation free). At the heart of CLTS is the recognition that merely providing toilets does not guarantee their use, nor result in improved sanitation and hygiene,” the statement said.It, however, argued that CLTS focuses on the behavioural change needed to ensure real and sustainable improvements, investing in community mobilisation instead of hardware and shifting the focus from toilet construction for individual households to the creation of open defecation-free villages.

”As at today, 58 communities have been triggered to take action on on CLTS in Isoko South LGA with 6 certified Open Defecation Free (ODF). 26 others are being reviewed by the State Task Group on Sanitation (STGS). In meeting the special sanitation needs of schools, the programme is providing 13 new toilets as well as 25 special pumps i.e.

Forcelift hand Pumps for existing toilets. “CLTS triggers the community’s desire for collective change, propels people into action and encourages innovation, mutual support and appropriate local solutions, thus leading to greater ownership and sustainability.”According to the statement, the WASH Programme has two major components; water and sanitation/hygiene.”The WASH Programme sponsored by the EU/UNICEF is part of the Niger Delta Support Programme which is a programme initiated in response to developmental issues of the Niger Delta, and especially the devastating floods in the area in 2013″.

The two organisations, under the water programme, also planned to provide solar motorised boreholes (SMBH) in 26 communities, 25 force-lift hand pumps for schools with existing toilets and 33 hand-pump boreholes in flood-prone areas.It said  there would be a review of the water component of the WASH Baseline study to review gaps in rural water supply.