The federal ministry of water resources Tuesday called on state governments to prioritize the provision of portable water supply to the citizenry to avert ailments associated to water borne diseases especially at the rural areas.
Rukkaiyat Bako, a Deputy Director of the ministry who made the call in Lokoja while declaring open a two- day workshop organised by the ministry for water service providers in the North Central zone of the country on Water Safety Plans (WSP), noted that it has become imperative for government at all levels and spirited individual to put the issue of portable water supply at the front burner, saying water does not have an alternative.
The Director who noted that the objectives of the workshop was to build the capacity of the water service providers on the concept , processes and technique of water safety planning , said the ministry will not relent in its effort to ensure that health of Nigerians are protected against any form of water borne diseases.
She stressed “We are not satisfied with the level and quality of water supplied to the people in the country and that is why we are making concerted effort to ensure that various states improve in their performances especially at the rural areas where appreciable percentage of population of the country dwell”.
She pointed out that the participants at the workshop are water agencies in the North Central, assuring that similar workshop will be replicated in all zones of the country to ensure that communities have quality drinking water at all time.
“We will continue to enlighten communities through the ministry’s numerous programmes on the need for them to treat their water by boiling before they drink it” she advised.
Also speaking , one of the resource persons at the workshop, Dr.Grace Olusanya , urged government at all levels and individuals to adopt water safety plans which she noted entails a proactive , preventive and comprehensive methodology of ensuring a quality drinking water.
She said “If government can promote water safety plans and encourage people to adopt then the challenges associated to water handling and usage will be a thing of the past and the health of Nigerians will not be in jeopardy.”
“At the end of the workshop, we are desirous of raising water safety plans champions and water quality champions that will drive the development and implementation of WSP in the state where they work” Dr. Olusanya assured.