PHOTO: Some of the newly trained citizens
By Teeneo Anthony Flahn, anthonyflahn88@gmail.com>
ZWEDRU, Liberia- The National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) is engaging in activities to boost sanitation and a safe and clean environment in the southeastern Grand Gedeh County, in the wake of high level of open defecation in this West African nation.
According to a UNICEF report, about 42 per cent of Liberia population practices open defecation.
NPHIL has recently carried out a six-day training of Trainers of Trainers (TOT) for Community-led total sanitation and planning section for community sanitation activities. This is under the project Comprehensive Harmonized Action on Water and Sanitation (CHATWASH) in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.
The program, which is being sponsored by UNICEF, brought to seventy participants from the eight administrative districts in Grand Gedeh County.
Speaking to www.newspublictrust.com here in the Zwedru on Tuesday, the focal person for Community led total sanitation Grand Gedeh County, Ezekiel Z. Weay Sr. said that the National workshop on the Comprehensive Harmonized Action to Water and Sanitation and hygiene (CHATWASH)-movement has launched five years project entitled Comprehensive Harmonized Action on Water and Sanitation (CHATWASH) towards sustainable WASH service delivery in Liberia.
According to him, the project is focusing on the improvement of condition in communities, as well as national dignity.
It is also intended to further consolidate future collaborative initiatives and achieve the noble national goal of ending open defecation in Liberia by 2025.
Efforts are being made to form or reform water, sanitation and hygiene coordination committees in all counties, districts, cities and other sub-national structure where such committees are yet to be formed by the end of 2022.
It will also assist all coordination committees in formulating and implementing water, sanitation, hygiene plan base on the baseline data for their respective area.