How Bauchi community fights open defecation

It is no longer news that poor sanitation has remained one of the top environmental challenges in Nigeria as millions of people struggle to stay in clean and healthy environments.

These millions of people facing the repercussions of poor sanitation, dirty water and inadequate hygiene like open defecation, absence of hand washing with soap and water, are exposed to life-threatening environment, according to the 2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Recently, too, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said Nigeria ranked second highest in open defecation with over 47 million people still practicing it, while 32 million people use unimproved toilets.

Kirfin Sama community in Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State is one of the communities where majority of the people practice open defecation but they have been struggling to fight the act as they believed it is undignifying.

With a population of about 3000 people, most of the households in the community lack decent toilets and as a result file into the nearby bushes to relieve themselves whenever the need arises.

While a few with pit latrines complain of the poor state of the toilets and the need to get improved ones, some of the households said they have to resort to digging shallow holes in a corner of their houses which they use to answer the call of nature. The hole is then covered up with sand when it fills up and another spot dug to serve the occupants, and even visitors.

Dije Abubakar, 30, who lives with her 80-year-old father, Abubakar Abdullahi, a farmer, and three other members of the family, said they do not have a toilet in the house and still practice open defecation.

“To defecate, I used to dig a hole behind our house and cover it after use, but our chickens have a way of digging out the faeces, so I have to go in to the bush. My old father also uses the bush to defecate even though he finds it difficult walking because of leg injury and I do not have money to build a toilet for him.

“When you defecate in the bush people see you and the shame lasts for long. Each time you meet the person on your way you avoid eye contact. If I can build a toilet, I will be comfortable and happy to receive visitors,” she said.

Another resident, 50-year-old Uwani Mohammed, said her toilet is a hole she dug and covered as soon as it is almost filled and then dig another.

“Anytime I squat I feel like I will fall into it, but I don’t like the sight of excreta and that is why I hate open defecation. It is the only option I have for now because of lack of money. I know it is not a decent toilet,” she said.

For Sarkin Yamma of Kirfin Sama, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, one of the few with a pit toilet in his house, he said he knows the importance of having a decent toilet in the house as not having one will definitely create a big problem.

“Imagine not having a toilet in the rainy season or going to the bush to defecate in the night and when our people defecate in the bush the wind scatters it around and thereby spreading diseases like cholera.

Ibrahim, a retired civil servant, said open defecation is a shameful act but that at the break of day people will file out to go into the bush to defecate.

“We have asked those who do not have toilets to try to build one; that it is an act of shame to see women ease themselves in the open,” he said.

To address the issue of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), WaterAid in collaboration with other partners have said that improved hygiene and sanitation can transform lives.

Speaking at a Case Studies Gathering workshop organized by WaterAid in Bauchi recently, WaterAid Nigeria Communication Officer, Blessing Sani said providing clean water and good hygiene practices in communities can transform their lives.

She noted that they have carried out projects in many communities where they provided sources of drinking water and toilets, saying, that was to support the institutions that are responsible for the delivery.

While noting that some of the policies are not too effective in the communities, she said translating them through case studies by simplifying them and sensitizing the public will help make the implementation effective.

In order to scale up good practices in the communities where projects are carried out, she explained that WASH groups were set up to take care of projects and create sustainability.

To address the issue of open defecation in Kirfin Sama, WaterAid and its partners, aside the introduction of Community Lead Toilet System (CLTS), also introduced Sanitation Marketing, which is an emerging strategy to boost the uptake of improved and safely managed sanitation facilities in Kirfi Sama.

However, the communication officer said having access to WASH can be capital intensive but that much can be achieved using an alternative which is much cheaper, and thus the reason for the introduction of sanitation marketing.

To end open defecation and reduce the incidence of WASH related illnesses, which include typhoid fever, cholera and diarrhoea, the community was sensitized on the dangers of open defecation and importance of adopting the Water Easy Toilet (WET).

To bring in the wet toilet system in the community, they were advised to buy the Sato Pan, which requires small amount of water for flushing and also safer as it protects an individual from water and sanitation borne illnesses like cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid.

However, Dije who testified that the wet toilet is a better alternative said: “I have seen the Wet Toilet installed in my neighbourhood and it is beautiful. It prevents rats, cockroaches and flies from accessing the toilet and infecting us with cholera.”

The community, however, said efforts are ongoing to address the problem of open defecation but that they also need the assistance of the authority to achieve that as many cannot afford to purchase the Sato Pan.