The Bauchi State Government has launched an intensified push to end open defecation and curb cholera outbreaks, flagging off an Open Defecation-Free (ODF) campaign in Jama’are, Misau and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas.
The campaign, funded by the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF) project and implemented by WaterAid Nigeria, kicked off on Friday in Jama’are LGA.
It forms part of wider efforts to improve sanitation and public health in vulnerable communities across the state.
Speaking at the launch, the Commissioner for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Sani Mohammed Dambam, said he expects the three LGAs to soon attain ODF status and join other certified councils in Bauchi.
He reaffirmed Governor Bala Mohammed’s commitment to better hygiene through closer work with development partners, traditional rulers, and grassroots groups.
The campaign aims to drive behavioural change, raise public awareness, and reduce the spread of cholera, typhoid, and diarrhoea, with a focus on women and children.
Dambam described open defecation as a dangerous and primitive practice that contaminates land, air, and water. He noted that 45–50 million Nigerians still defecate openly, mostly in rural areas, driven by poverty, lack of toilets, ignorance, and poor sanitation habits.
Sanitation-related infections kill more than 100,000 children under five each year in Nigeria, he said, while poor sanitation costs the economy over N455 billion annually.
To tackle recurring outbreaks, the state has inaugurated a multisectoral State Cholera Steering Committee and Technical Working Group involving key ministries and agencies.
Dambam also praised communities that have pooled funds to build household toilets, calling it a sign of growing support for an ODF Bauchi.
WaterAid Nigeria’s State Task Team Lead, Mashat Mallo, urged stakeholders to sustain the campaign beyond the project’s lifespan.
The SHF project is expanding sanitation facilities in homes and public spaces like markets, worship centres, and motor parks and promoting waste-to-wealth initiatives for women and youths.
Mallo warned that even one household without a toilet can fuel cholera spread, and many families still struggle to afford construction.
The acting managing director of the Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Bala Zailani, said 21 communities in Tafawa Balewa have already been certified ODF, with others under verification.
Traditional rulers pledged full backing.
The Emir of Jama’are, Alhaji Nuhu Muhammadu Wabi; the Emir of Misau, Alhaji Ahmed Sulaiman; and the Gung Zaar, Marcus Koko Yake, all committed to sustaining improved sanitation practices and ending open defecation in their domains.
Council chairmen of Jama’are, Misau, and Tafawa Balewa also assured residents of continued support to achieve ODF status.
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