Cholera: FCT Agency Warns Against Open Defecation

To prevent the outbreak of cholera in the nation’s capital, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) has cautioned residents against open defecation in bushes and uncompleted buildings.

The agency also advised against indiscriminate and random open defecation in public spaces.
The executive director of FCT RUWASSA, Dr Joyce Chinyere Echoke, declared that adherence to the open defecation policy was not negotiable, especially as the rainy season was in session.

She said the idea of using bushes and uncompleted buildings for defecation, besides not being healthy, was also dangerous as reptiles are harboured there because of the cold weather.

Echoke asked the residents to imbibe the culture of handwashing, to break the chain of transmission of most pathogenic diseases.

She said the agency had embarked on sensitisation and awareness campaigns in the 62 wards across the territory.

The agency intensified its campaign against open defecation over the weekend with a sensitisation exercise targeting major motor parks across the Territory.

The campaign, which took place in Wuse market, focused on promoting proper sanitation and hygiene practices among transport operators, commuters, traders, and other users of motor parks.

The agency’s Head of Community Mobilisation and Hygiene Promotion, Mallam Hussaini Abdulkadir, who led the exercise, emphasised the importance of using designated toilet facilities and urged members of the public to desist from open defecation.

He stressed that access to and proper use of toilets are critical to maintaining a clean, safe, and healthy environment.

The team also highlighted the need for strict compliance with existing sanitation laws, noting that the fight against open defecation requires not only public awareness but also adherence to established regulations.

Dr Joyce Echoke promised that FCT RUWASSA will implement and enforce stringent penalties for open defecation to deter individuals from engaging in such an unhygienic practice, especially now that the cholera epidemic is on the prowl.

The executive director, therefore, assured that the agency will upgrade and improve existing sanitation facilities to accommodate the growing population and ward off the cholera epidemic.

She said the Honourable Minister Nyeson Wike and the Minister of State, Dr Maryam Mahmoud of the FCT, have made provision for public toilets in strategic locations across the city and urged residents to use them hygienically.

Dr Echoke cautioned that open defecation poses significant health and environmental risk and is a menace to the well-being of the populace.

Accordingly, she said addressing the issue was paramount for the well-being of communities in the FCT.

The agency’s efforts aimed to reduce the incidence of open defecation, improve public health, and enhance the overall quality of life for rural communities in the FCT are not negotiable.