ARTICLE BY MSHELIA BIRMA AND ANDREW WAYUTA

(A publication of the Health WASH Department of Hope Interactive)

Promoting Communal Health through Sanitation in Yobe State

Effective sanitation is pivotal to communal health, serving as a cornerstone for preventing disease and fostering a healthy environment. In Yobe State, inadequate sanitation infrastructure and practices contribute significantly to the spread of infectious diseases, including diarrhea, cholera, and dysentery. Improving sanitation is, therefore, not just a matter of convenience but a fundamental public health necessity.

One of the primary strategies for promoting communal health through sanitation in Yobe State is the implementation of proper waste disposal systems. This includes ensuring access to clean and functional latrines or toilets, which can significantly reduce the contamination of water sources. Safe disposal of human waste prevents the proliferation of pathogens that can contaminate water and food supplies, thereby reducing the incidence of waterborne diseases.

Community education and engagement are equally essential. By raising awareness about the importance of handwashing with soap and clean water, communities in Yobe State can combat the transmission of diseases. Educational programs should emphasize the critical times for handwashing, such as after using the toilet and before handling food, to maximize their impact. Schools, community centers, and public health campaigns can serve as effective platforms for disseminating this information.

In addition, sustainable sanitation solutions must be tailored to the specific needs and resources of Yobe State. For instance, in areas with scarce water resources, the use of dry toilets or composting toilets can provide a viable alternative to conventional flush toilets. These systems not only conserve water but also produce compost that can be used to enhance soil fertility, thus benefiting agricultural practices.

Government policies and investments play a crucial role in scaling up sanitation efforts. Public health infrastructure, funding for sanitation projects, and regulations that enforce sanitary practices are vital components of a comprehensive approach to communal health in Yobe State.

In conclusion, promoting communal health through sanitation in Yobe State requires a multi-faceted approach that includes infrastructure development, community education, and supportive policies. By prioritizing sanitation, communities in Yobe State can achieve significant improvements in public health, contributing to overall well-being and quality of life.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND NON-STATE ACTORS IN HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND WASH PROGRAM:

1. Work towards regular evacuation mega incinerators in communities. The state and local Governments should have central designated places for dumping of refuse when evacuated from communities; this should be located on the outskirts of the town and well controlled.
2. The state and local governments should encourage recycling of wastes to ensure they are not used to contaminate the environment.
3. Support communities and sensitize them on the need to regularly excavate clogged up drainages and especially at the beginning of the rainy season. Waiting for the government to do so has been a distorted belief in the state.
4. Instituting monthly sanitation on Saturdays will be a good way to get communities to make regular sanitation and hence prevent spread of diseases.
5. Enforcing construction of drainages in communities by builders: Most communities experience severe water logging and flooding because water paths have been blocked by new buildings and there are no drainages within the communities. It is important to enact laws that will ensure that every house built has a drainage in front of it to aid draining of water during and after rain.
6. Networking all drainages in the state to ensure they are all linked: The greatest error with road construction and their associated drainages is the fact that they stand alone; they don’t empty into another drainage with leads to water logging. Many drainages in have become mosquito breeding pools because they are not networked.
7. Enforce punitive measures on those that convert drainages into incinerators: So many people have turned the drainages in front of their houses into incinerators where they put refuse and burn them. This is a very bad practice that has clogged up many drainages.
8. Enforce punitive measures on those that fill up drainages for their cars to pass; so they don’t have to construct culverts.
9. Including and enforcing dump sites in every community layout: With the practice of turning drainages into incinerators, it will be advisable if the government can enforce establishment of communal incinerators. Where the plots have been sold out and buildings are standing on it, there should be a way to recover these lands and relocate the people to other places.
10. Develop a plan towards reduction in the use of plastic bags and bottles which are responsible for a high level of refuse generated, resulting in blockage of drainages.
11. Set a regulatory standard for construction of soak away in communities: The new normal in the state is the construction of soak away outside the building, sometimes occupying the road. This sometimes interfere with water supply, road and drainage construction. These drainages are flooded during rainy season, mix with the rain water and are carried to distant places which ultimately brings about contamination.
12. Enforcing decent evacuation of soak away: In communities today, filled soak away are evacuated and poured on the street, polluting the air and endangering people’s health. This is a serious public health concerned that must be taken seriously.
13. Provide public VIP (pit toilets) for madrasa (traditional Islamic schools) to avoid open defecation.
14. Sensitize community gardeners and families to properly wash vegetables or fruits before eating, especially those eaten raw, as contamination could be high due to open defecation etc.
15. Sanitizing of places in the market and covering of food substances sold in public to avoid contamination by flies and other form of vectors.
16. Regular inspection of sachet water factories to ensure compliance with national hygiene standards: This has been a major cause of Gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) infection.
17. Inspection of restaurants to ensure they comply with hygiene standards.
18. Enforcing regular inspection of abattoir by professionals to ensure diseased animals and slaughtered and to identify potential zoonotic diseases.
19. With the advent of WASH boreholes all around, community members should be sensitized on the need to avoid drinking such water or use water guard to ensure pathogenic organisms are eliminated, especially when these boreholes are close to soak away.
20. Community members should always learn to patronize water vendors with clean vessels. This will encourage the water vendors to regularly wash the kegs. The same vessels (jerry-cans) used to fetch drinking water is sometimes used to fetch dirty water for building in ditches. Water vendors will need to be sensitized on how to keep these water vessels clean and regularly washed.
21. The government and community leaders should encourage packing of the content of excavated drainages after excavation. Excavating a drainage and leaving the content by the side of the drainage is a common practice that amounts to a short term intervention because leaving them at the edge allows them to return and fill in the drainages within a short time.
22. Knowing well that contamination level is high in the rainy season, it will be good to sensitize people to maintain a high level of hygiene especially with regards to drinking water and consumption of milk locally sold by herders in the market, which sometimes are consumed raw without pasteurization; sold in an unhygienic environment and sometimes sold in contaminated vessels.