By Asma’u Ahmad
The Bauchi State Government said that no fewer than 60 boreholes equipped with hand pumps had been constructed in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the 12 local government areas of the state.
Permanent Secretary of the state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Garba Magaji, gave the figure in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi.
Bauchi State Governor
Magaji said the boreholes were constructed by the government, in collaboration with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). He said the projects were part of the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) project.
According to him, the SHAWN project is being implemented in 60 PHCs across 12 local government areas in Dass, Gamawa, Warji, Toro, Shira, Bogoro, Jama’are, Zaki, Bauchi, Katagum, Itas Gadaun and Ganjuwa. He said the ongoing projects were almost completed and would soon be ready for commissioning.
Magaji said that the water facilities in the health centres would provide access to safe drinking water and improved hygiene.According to him, Bauchi State, being one of the beneficiaries of the UNICEF’s funded SHAWN project, has done a lot in accelerating access to sanitation and water supply in rural areas.
He said that such intervention had reduced water-related diseases in the affected areas. He said the state had also demonstrated its commitment by paying counterpart funding for water supply and other projects to donor agencies.
Magaji assured stakeholders of the agency’s commitment to all water and sanitation projects in the state. He urged the people of Bauchi State to embrace hygiene in their respective localities to avoid the transmission of diseases, especially during the dry season.
He commended the Bauchi State Government and development partners like the UNICEF and Department For International Development for their support in providing needed assistance to various agencies in the state.
