ABUJA – Mr Samuel Ome, the Director, Water Quality in the Ministry of Water Resources, said on Tuesday that plans were under way to embark on surveillance of states recently affected by cholera outbreak.
Ome told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the move was to ascertain the true position of things in the affected states and provide necessary intervention.
He expressed concern that some states were continually affected by increasing cases of water-borne diseases, in spite of efforts by the government to confront public health risks in the country.
Ome said that Bauchi, Taraba, Katsina, Nasarawa, Kano, Niger and Benue states would receive the intervention.
The director said that the ministry would collaborate with Ministry of Health to address the worsening situation of cholera outbreak in these states.
“And in doing that ,we will carry out quality test of the water they drink and use it to know whether they conform with the regulations on the Nigerian standard for drinking water quality.’’ [eap_ad_2] Ome said that the team would also carry out advocacy programme on community-based water purification system storage and testing, to ensure good storage.
“Because infections come with storage also; so how often they clean and wash those storage facilities they have and also how to use simple test kit.
“And we will teach them how to treat their own water with chorine tablets and other household purification systems.”
He said that the team would extend its intervention strategy toward addressing poor sanitation and personal hygiene.
Ome condemned open defecation, explaining that the practice attract flies which in turn transmit virus as it touches the food.
“If they defecate everywhere, flies will touch them and touch their food and that will be spread the disease further.
“So, we will look at sanitation using the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach as a model to raise advocacy on the promotion of open defecation free environment,’’ the director said. (NAN)[eap_ad_3]
