Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council through Global Sanitation Fund has provided the sum of five million Us Dollars ($5,000,000) to implement Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria.
The Minister of Water Resources Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, disclosed this on Monday 16th June, 2014 while signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), and two benefitting states, Cross River and Benue State Governments.
The Minister said that Signing of the MoU signifies take off of the programme towards scaling up of sanitation and hygiene in order to attain the stated national MDG targets.
Ochekpe 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.”
She added 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.
“It is my belief that the programme will be a huge success from where we will draw lesson to replicate the remaining other LGAs in Benue and Cross River States and indeed throughout Nigeria.” The Minister added.
In his remarks, the Executive Director of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Dr. Chris Williams said that the programme is based on Nigerian National Water Supply and Sanitation programme which was adopted in 2000 making accessibility to adequate water and sanitation the right of every Nigerian.
The Benue state Governor, Gebriel Suswan represented by the Secretary to the State Government Dr. David Salifu and the representative of Cross River State Governor Engr. Partrick Emori, General Manager Water Board, appreciated the partnership between Federal Government of Nigeria and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council for choosing their states as pilot for the Programme.