Close down illegal, unhygienic boreholes —UNICEF boss

The UNICEF boss in Borno State, Geoffrey Ijumba has called upon the state government to summon the political will to close down illegal and unhygienic boreholes in the state.

He decried a situation in which non governmental agencies would come into the state to dig boreholes without any geological survey or proper permission from the government, thereby leaving the people to drink polluted water in the process.

Ijumba said there was a national standard which all boreholes must follow without which it should not be certified fit for consumption and the state government must see to it.

Ijumba who was one of the spokespersons during the inauguration of the Borno state technical and steering committees on food and nutrition said he expected the committee to ensure that the state’s policy for food and nutrition would hit the ground running because there were so many issues to be handled concerning malnutrition which is presently killing up to three children per day in the state.

Ijumba regretted that the government had not been very serious with the issue of sanitation, adding that a line must be drawn to ensure sanity in the nutrition sub sector.

Earlier, Ijumba had informed the gathering that UNICEF would continue to support Borno State in the provision of people preventive and curative nutrition services.

Ijumba went on:  ”Thanks to the support from our donors, namely, DFID, Japan, ECHO, Germany, Canada, Italy and others; we will continue to support the government in the provision of preventative and curative nutrition activities.

“UNICEF believes that the death of one child is too many, and that we must ensure a healthy start to life for all children regardless of their situation, hence our support for the activation of this committee,” added Ijumba.