![Open defecation: SURWASH to construct toilets for 2,000 households in Gombe, HOTPEN](https://hotpen.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_20230803_083604.jpg)
By Laraba Usman
The Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Sanitation And Hygiene (SURWASH ) says it has targeted 2,000 household in Gombe Local Government Area of Gombe State who will benefits from pit latrines it will construct.
Alh. Usman Aliyu Project Coordinator SURWASH in Gombe State disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the activities of the office yesterday in Gombe .
He said the decision to construct the toilets in the 2,000 household identified in Gombe was because of the vulnerability of the community, “they were the poorest of the poor who engage in open defecation.
“There is the need for us to construct the pit toilets for them, to discourage the spread of disease to achieve open defecation free status.
“Improve water supply and Sanitation in urban and rural areas, Urban and semi urban, “he said.
He said that the programme which will run for six years, became effective in January 2022 and it is expected to ensure reforms in governance and service provision through increased access to drinking water and sanitation services through the construction and rehabilitation of WASH infrastructure.
He said the programme which will gulp 700 million dollars approved by the World Bank, seven states were selected Gombe inclusive with counterpart funding from the Federal Government and participating states.
The Project Coordinator said all the 11 LGAs were expected to benefits from the project, but they have selected four LGAs namely Gombe, Kaltungo, Akko and Kwami for the first phase.
He said the beneficiaries stand the chance of benefiting more when they maintain the structures and continue to function, by servicing, repairing and replacing of the items needed by the structures.