International Affairs Canada, in partnership with WaterAid Canada and WaterAid Nigeria, has dedicated $7.98 million to enhance entry to water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and sexual and reproductive well being providers in Bauchi State.
The five-year initiative, tagged EmpowerHer, goals to rework the lives of girls and women throughout 1,000 communities.
Talking on the undertaking launch in Abuja, Senior Worldwide Workplace Assistant at International Affairs Canada, Dr. Martins Osunbor, stated the programme will immediately profit 20,000 adolescent women, 15,000 adolescent boys, and 71,000 ladies of reproductive age, with an estimated oblique impression on greater than 600,000 residents.
Osunbor famous that solely a 3rd of well being amenities in Bauchi have primary WASH providers, and fewer than one in ten have satisfactory sanitation, leading to preventable infections, childbirth problems, and poor well being outcomes.
“Because of this the EmpowerHer undertaking issues so profoundly,” he stated. “With a joint funding of $7.98 million over 5 years, this initiative will elevate consciousness in colleges and communities, strengthen WASH and well being infrastructure, and enhance insurance policies, governance, and accountability mechanisms.”
He praised undertaking companions, Ahead in Motion for Schooling, Poverty and Malnutrition (FAcE-PaM), and the Girls Growth Affiliation for Self-Sustenance (WODASS), for his or her grassroots management in gender equality and reproductive well being.
WaterAid Nigeria Nation Director, Evelyn Mere, stated the undertaking would ship gender-responsive and climate-resilient WASH providers in communities, colleges, and healthcare amenities, practice well being employees, and strengthen authorities programs for sustainability.
“Our imaginative and prescient is a future the place ladies and women can handle their well being and hygiene with dignity, free from stigma, and the place entry to scrub water, respectable bathrooms, and good hygiene may be taken with no consideration,” she stated.
Director of Water High quality Management and Sanitation on the Federal Ministry of Water Assets, Mrs. Elizabeth Ugoh, recommended the initiative, noting that the three taking part LGAs would function fashions for replication nationwide.
Bauchi State Commissioner for Well being and Social Welfare, Dr. Suleiman Abubakar, pledged the state authorities’s help to make sure the undertaking’s success and long-term sustainability.
