By John Oba
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) through Global Sanitation Fund has provided the sum of $5,000,000 for rural sanitation and hygiene promotion in Nigeria. Minister of Water Resources Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, disclosed recently while signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria with the WSSCC and two benefitting states governments, Cross River and Benue State.
Ochekpe said signing the MoU signifies the taking off of the programme towards scaling up of sanitation and hygiene in order to attain the stated national MDG targets.
The minister said “We are here to witness such collaborative effort with one of our development partners, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) who through the Global Sanitation Fund provided the sum of US $5,000,000 to promote the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSSPIN) programme in Benue and Cross River States.”
Adding that “the entry of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) into Nigeria through the grant from Global Sanitation Fund is demonstration of the concern by the international community to assist Nigeria in scaling- up sanitation and hygiene for which we remain grateful.” The Minister said that Benue and Cross River states have shown commitment and readiness for the programme through provision of counterpart funding for implementation of the programme.
The Local Governments to benefit in Benue state are Aguta, Gwer East, Logo, Ado Bukuru and Gboko while in Cross River State are Abi, Bekwera, Obanliku, Obudu, Akamkpa, Ogoja.
