Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria, Dr. Jane Bevan, Wednesday said more than half of the population in Oyo state has no toilet facilities.
Dr. Bevan raised the alarm in Ibadan at a one- day media dialogue on the launch of open defecation free roadmap in Oyo state.
The UNICEF chief hinted that children are the most affected wherever there is an outbreak of disease.
“Children suffer mostly during outbreak of disease. This is the reason we must stop open defecation. More than half of the population in Oyo state does not have toilet. Majority of people here do open defecation and we have to stop it.
“The purpose of this event is to understand the background issue. When there is an outbreak of disease like cholera and other diseases, it is the children that are usually affected most. We want to eradicate open defecation. We are asking all of you to support this campaign.”
Dr Bevan stated further that it is already having negative consequences such as outbreak of diseases like cholera and other diseases.
Oyo State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) chairman, Najeem Omirinde, while speaking identified open defecation is a serious issue.
Engineer Omirinde said the agency “is interested in a situation where every house will have a toilet.”