It has been discovered that a total of 2.4 billion people globally are without access to sewers, while 2.6 billion require faecal sludge management (FSM) services, just as 1.9 billion lack any services at all.
The assertion was made by the Director General of Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA), Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Bose, in a presentation titled ‘Faecal Sludge Management Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities’ presented at the commemoration of the 2024 World Toilet Day held in Bauchi.
He stated that FSM challenges include the fact that most programs focus (ed) on increasing access to sanitation facilities by investing in onsite sanitation systems.
He added that the management of onsite sanitation remains a neglected component of urban (and rural) sanitation, resulting in onsite sanitation facilities becoming major sources of groundwater and surface water pollution with significant environmental, public health, and economic impacts.
Another FSM challenge, according to him, is that, as it is globally, over 2.6 billion people are served by (onsite) sanitation methods that need faecal sludge management.
According to him, “If the current trend persists by 2030, FSM may be required by some 4.9 billion people. The estimated volume of faecal sludge comes to some 245 billion litres per year with a market potential of $2.3 billion per year.”
On efforts being made in Bauchi State to check the trend, the BASEPA DG stressed that there is an inter-sectoral collaboration between MDAs and CSOs in the WASH sector as well as the development of operational procedures.
Other efforts made so far included the formalisation of manual and mechanised pit emptiers, capacity building for pit emptiers and toilet business operators (TBOS), increasing access to the sanitation revolving fund through MFI, and stakeholder engagement for religious and traditional leaders.
There were also approvals and releases for the overhauling of Septic Trucks, budgetary provision for the procurement of additional septic trucks and construction of a user-friendly CR Reference Model Toilet by WaterAid
Furthermore, there was the strengthening of community inspectors, budgetary provision for the FSM treatment plant, partnership for the training of pit emptiers on waste to wealth (briquette formation and organic manure), and public-private partnership on waste to wealth program.
There was also a partnership with Bauchi State RUWASSA, while BASEPA got support from UNICEF Nigeria in the training of 30 traditions by UNICEF-Lixil collaboration to bring to standard and equip emptiers/evacuators in the State for the management of the faecal sludge Chain
Mahmud Bose assured that more sanitary inspectors will be recruited and posted across the state to ensure that the environment is kept clean and habitable.
The 2024 World Toilet Day celebration has a theme: Toilet—A Peaceful Place.
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