By Nabilu Balarabe
Birniwa – The Jigawa Government, in collaboration with UNICEF, has provided 2,000 plastic toilet squat pans, satopans, to Birniwa Local Government Area of the state, as part of efforts to eradicate open defecation.
Alhaji Isyaku Umar, the State Water Sanitation and Hygiene Programme Coordinator in the area, made the disclosure to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birniwa on Thursday.
According to him, satopan, which has a self-sealing trap underneath, is a hard plastic mold inserted into a slab hole over a pit.
He said that satopan was effective in eradicating bad smell emanating from pit toilet, and could limit the transmission of diseases by insects coming out of the pit.
Umar said each satopan was sold to an accredited agent at the cost of N1, 500, and the agents disposed them off to members of the public at between N1, 700 and N2, 000.
He said the partners had encouraged low income earners in the area to take part in a contributory scheme to enable them to purchase the plastic pans and make good use of them.
“What we observed is that N2, 000 may be difficult for some people to raise and purchase satopan.
“Therefore, the programme trains residents in a contributory scheme, in which people can contribute any amount of money they can, either weekly or monthly.
“Whatever they garner at the end of the day, the agents are invited to supply satopan to them, including the slab itself if they are interested.
“Through this method, many have bought it. As I speak with you, we are running short of the product; we will have to order for more,” he said.