NEWSA Urges Taraba State Government to Increase Budgetary Allocation for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

The leadership of the Society for Water and Sanitation (NEWSA) in Taraba State has called on the state government to increase budgetary allocation for water, sanitation, and hygiene to prioritize and improve these services across the state.

Boniface Koson, the state Coordinator of NEWSA, emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating that 48 million Nigerians still engage in open defecation and only eight percent of the population adhere to clean hand washing practices.

To achieve Nigeria’s goal of becoming open-defecation-free by 2024, the state government must act on the solutions being offered.

Musa Buba Siam, the Managing Director of the Taraba Agency for Water Cooperation (TAWACO), reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring universal access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene education across the state.

He emphasized the principle of leaving no one behind and stressed the importance of developing water and sanitation services that are sustainable, safe, and resilient to climate-related risks.

By increasing the budgetary allocation for water, sanitation, and hygiene, the Taraba State government can work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.

This will not only improve the overall health and well-being of the state’s population but also contribute to the nation’s efforts to eradicate open defecation and promote clean hand washing practices.