By 
By Usman Aliyu
The Society for Family Health (SFH) says it has been able to preach and provide hygiene practices and improved access to safe water to over 40,000 individuals in Edo.
Evelyn Orakwelu, SFH Representative in the state , disclosed this on Wednesday in Benin while presenting an assessment of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for Healthy Lives (W4HL) project, since 2022.
Highlighting the achievements of the project at the end of its Phase III, Orakwelu said the intervention was able to reach out to 19,585 households across four local government areas in the state.
According to him, the intervention, implemented in Ovia South West, Esan West, Esan South East, and Etsako Central local governments, focused on house-to-house sensitisation, stakeholder engagement, school WASH programme and service delivery activation.
She said the project was being funded by Procter and Gamble (P&G), a multinational consumer goods corporation based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
“By using the company water purification sachets, individuals can treat contaminated water, reducing the risk of water-borne illnesses and improving overall well-being.
“The adoption of household water treatment methods, particularly the use of P&G water purifiers, increased significantly, reducing the reliance on unsafe purification methods.
“Handwashing practices also improved, with 88.4 per cent of residents in Phase II areas adopting regular handwashing habits, up from 76.1 per cent at the project’s baseline.
“The initiative also led to a reduction in open defecation, a key public health challenge in many rural communities,” she said.
She said more than 1,000 school sessions were conducted to instill proper hygiene practices in children, while 153 service delivery points were activated to sustain WASH efforts within communities.
In his goodwill message, Dennis Abeyiuwa, Managing Director of SFH Access, said access to clean water was critical for public health and economic stability.
Abeyiuwa said that despite Edo’s abundant surface and underground water resources, inadequate water treatment and supply remained key challenges, contributing to the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera.
Earlier, Dr Anthony Nwala, Assistant Chief Programme Delivery Officer of SFH, said Edo was chosen due to its enabling environment and the pressing water-related challenges, such as flooding, which impact on public health.
“Over the past three years, SFH has successfully implemented impactful programmes that have improved access to clean water, hygiene education, and sanitation services,” he said. (NAN)
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