Plateau State Government Flags Off Sensitization Campaign to Prevent the Spread of Cholera in the State

The Plateau State Government has commenced intensive sensitization against the spread of Cholera in the State. The flag off climaxed at the SUBEB LEA Model Primary School Gyel on Thursday 25th July 2024.

Speaking to journalists at the event, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Urban Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH), Engineer Jonathan Mallann highlighted the importance of the sensitization campaign and its significance to the Gyel community.

“You will recall that there has been an outcry in the country of cholera outbreak where 33 states, I mean, cases that have been recorded in 33 states. We thank God Plateau was not among the 33 states that cholera has been recorded. But we cannot fold our arms to watch until cholera affects us.”

“So we feel it is important to raise awareness in our communities, to raise awareness in the state, to raise awareness that our stakeholders can take the message of preventing cholera.”

“In Plateau State, we thank God for the support we got from the governor who graciously approved that we should run this campaign. And we are running this campaign in this community, Gyel.”

“Gyel is of importance to us because under the Sustainable Urban Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Hygiene Programme of the World Bank, Gyel community is a beneficiary community.”

“This institution is one of the Disposal Indicators (DLIs) where sanitation, WASH facilities will be provided. And we are targeting the younger ones, you can see the children, we are targeting them, if they can practice good hygiene practices, cholera will not find place in our lives.”

“We are starting early with them and we are also calling on all our stakeholders, the community leaders, our religious leaders, and particularly you, the press, that we should be the owners of this campaign, be the ones to propagate the message to our people. The right message of washing your hands at critical moments. The right messages of stopping open defecation in our community. The right messages of doing the best practice hygiene practices, so that we can keep out cholera from our community.”

The Managing Director, Jos Water Services Corporation Engr. Apollos Solomon Samchi had this to say about the role of his agency in the sensitization campaign to prevent the spread of cholera, and also communities identified for the provision of clean, safe and portable drinking water as part of preventive measures.

“As my program coordinator has just enumerated, today is a very important day for us because as we do it in the offices, as we do it in the water treatment plants, it’s another opportunity for us to meet the consumers of our products and as potable water. And as far as today is concerned, we are here to launch a campaign against cholera and other water borne diseases.”

“What my agency is doing, Jos Water Services Corporation has done and will continue to do, is the fact that the vanguard starts from the treatment plan. The treatment plans are located at different locations within Jos, and the main function of the treatment plan is to treat water to who standards.”

“And the executive governor of Plateau State is not resting on his oars on this responsibility, because the first thing you think of in dealing with treatment of water is the treatment chemicals.”

“Now, government has approved the supply, and the supply has even come of about 1000 metric tons of alum, which is a very basic, free, mechanical, in terms of water treatment…Where we have to be very careful is in dealing with the general public, because once you do not have the hygiene practice, well, definitely we’ll be doing it at the treatment plan, and at the end of it, we will not be seeing results.”

“And that is why we have to come to meet with the younger ones today with stakeholders, critical stakeholders, so that we’ll be able to show them how to stop cholera and then show them how to practice hygiene…”

“In the urban sector, there is a small town and the rural water supply, the rural water supply, which is purwasa, you know, is there dealing with that particular aspect.There are chlorine, you know, in tablets that are being distributed to houses…”

“And apart from that, this awareness has trickled down through the primary healthcare that is closer to the rural community. And then forthose that are in the urban sector, I mean, the urban area that do not have pipeborne water, I bet you recently we have targeted some of these areas, especially in Tudun wada, around Ikukumung, Zenaria, Fudawa.”

“These places that are, you know, those locations, those settlements that are mostly on top of the hills where probably the pressure of water cannot reach.We have met with them, we have engaged, and we have seen.We have done what is called baseline survey. Right now we are in the design process so that we will be able to see how we can use our engineering to get water to these areas.”

Officer covering that affairs of the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Water Resources, Mr Gayi Peter Gayi in his remark corroborated the position of the MD of the Jos Water Services Corporation, while also pointing out the need to end open defecation.

“Following up on what the MD of the Just Water Services Corporation has spoken about extensively, we have moved from the urban sector down to the municipals and down to the rural areas. And this gathering is to draw more support. You know, hygiene is very essential. And I think one of the things we have also talked about so much is open defecation (ODF).”

Speaking on the importance of the media in the campaign, State Chairperson, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Mrs Ayuku Pwaspo emphasized the need for accurate information dissemination in winning the campaign against the spread of cholera in the state.

“…as journalists, our role is to provide adequate information to the public on how to prevent and curb the spread of Cholera. It is also to educate our communities on the need to tidy up their environments, on the need to keep their water sources safe, and also on the need to report quickly to the hospital if they discover that they have any symptom of Cholera.”

“There’s a lot of misinformation about cholera. Sometimes you have another symptom, and then you say, it’s cholera. And so there’s need for journalists to go indepth and ask the right people. There is a protocol for reporting, and we expect that as journalists, we’ll hold our ethics and report correctly.”

Head Teacher, SUBEB LEA Model Primary School Gyel, Mrs Racheal Shindai was full of gratitude to the Plateau State Government for bringing the sensitization campaign to her school, adding that the pupils will have the opportunity to practicalize what they have been learning in class on ways to maintain a clean and healthy environment as well as how to maintain personal hygiene.