THE Federal Government (FG) has committed about $5million as counterpart contribution to the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN).
Nigeria secured the grant for the project through the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS).
NTGS is a coalition body of the relevant government ministries, departments and agencies, development partners and civil society organisations working in the sanitation sub-sector.
Speaking at a meeting with State Governors on the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) in Abuja, Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, stated that access to improved sanitation in Nigeria has declined over time.
As a result, he said there are over 70 million people without access to improve sanitation and more than 45 million people practicing open defecation in Nigeria.
Adamu said that the RUSHPIN project which is going on in 6 Local Government Areas of Benue and Cross River States is part of government’s efforts to mobilize resources to the sector in view of the limited resources available.
The Minister added that the Federal Government through the instrument of Partnership for Expanded Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) programme and the roadmap of ending open defecation by 2025 in the country, has demonstrated commitment to addressing the issues of water, sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria.
Present at the meeting were the governors of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
