The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Friday, donated 400 touch-less hand washing stations Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) kits to the 20 local government areas in Bauchi State as part of its COVID-19 interventions in the state.
The WASH Specialist, UNICEF, Bauchi field office, Mr Amose Kudzalla, presented the items to the state government in Bauchi.
He said that the presentation of the items was aimed at mitigating the transmission of COVID-19 in the council areas as well as communities, institutions and public places in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the items included 400 touch-less hand washing stations, multipurpose soap, kettles, plastic cups, jerry cans and buckets,
Others were water purification tablets, cholera prevention and handwashing step fliers to be distributed based on agreed selection criteria in all the 20 local governments.
“The items have been donated by UNICEF, with funding provided by our donors, the European Union (EU) and the UKaid of the United Kingdom, formerly known as DFID,” he said.
Kudzalla added that the purpose of the donation was to support the efforts at halting the spread of the pandemic through effective hand washing in communities and public places.
He urged the authorities, in view of the urgency required in COVID-19 response, to ensure timely distribution of the items to the beneficiaries.
Responding, Mr Garba Babaji, the General Manager of Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), noted that the agency’s partnership with UNICEF had, to a large extent, impacted the lives of people of the state positively.
He noted that the donation of the kits and the hand washing facilities was part of UNICEF’s COVID-19 response.
“UNICEF, in partnership with the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), has been supporting our WASH interventions in the state.
“However, today, we are confronting probably one of the worst public health crises in recent times, which is the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While countries are grappling with finding solutions, ranging from prevention to treatment, WASH continues to remain at the core of prevention strategies relating to COVID-19,” he said.
In his remark, the state Commissioner of Water Resources, Mr Jidauna Mbami, expressed appreciation to UNICEF for the gesture.
He called on other international partners, donors, NGOs, corporate organisations and wealthy individuals to emulate UNICEF’s gesture of responding to the needs of the less- privileged in order to ameliorate their sufferings.
He assured that all the items received would be used for the exact purpose for which they were intended.
Mbami commended Gov. Bala Mohammed for proving the counterpart fund which had attracted international partnerships with UNICEF and other donors.
Edited By: Abiemwense Moru and
Source: ‘Wale Sadeeq
