Water sanitation and hygiene
providing ways to alleviate water, sanitation and hygiene burden
Introduction
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Water is essential for life. The
amount of fresh water on earth is limited, and its quantity is under constant pressure. Preserving the quality of freshwater is important for the drinking-water supply, food production, and recreational water use. Water is critical to life, but it is also a limited resource and several interrelated factors are decreasing its availability.
Poor access to improved water and sanitation in Nigeria remains a major
contributing factor to high morbidity and mortality rates among children
under five. The use of contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea facilities. Also, 23.5 percent of the population defecate in the open.
Since inception, South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSDO) has conducted several assessments in a bid to better understand the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) burden of Nigeria and ways to alleviate it. In August 2017, SSDO conducted a WASH feasibility assessment at New Gariki settlement in Enugu South LGA of Enugu State to assess the state of WASH in the settlement and possibly establish a Water and Sanitation system in the settlement. Also, in January 2019, SSDO assessed six (6) non-functional boreholes in Enugu State to assess the level of repair needed.
In June 2019, Diageo – Guinness Plc engaged SSDO to rehabilitate eight (8) Water of Life (WOL) projects in three (3) state of the federation.
As part of the efforts to respond to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Enugu State, WaterAid in partnership with South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) has installed contactless permanent hand washing facilities in ten different locations in the state, including the three COVID-19 Isolation centers across the State.
This project is aimed at providing soap bars for indigent households in communities. Under the Soap Drive, 10,000 soaps was distributed to 1,600 households in Enugu State.
The Water of Life (WOL) project was conceptualized due to the integral
role water access plays in several spheres of human development. The Project provided safe drinking water to over one million inhabitants of local communities within 17 states, utilizing a methodology that prioritized community ownership in a bid to foster sustainability.