Tony Okafor, Awka
The United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) and the state Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) has commenced assessment of the level of damage ahead of the rehabilitation and replacement of the destroyed social amenities in some parts of Anambra State by last year’s flooding.
Our correspondent gathered that
UNICEF commenced the assessment last week and would start the repair of the facilities in public schools, markets, Primary Health Care centers and other public places shortly.
One of the reasons for rehabilitations, our correspondent further learnt was to discourage open defecation and outbreak of cholera in the affected areas.
The rehabilitation inspection had taken the officials to Anambra East, Anambra West, Ayamelum, Awka North and Ogbaru Local Government Areas where the flood destroyed most public facilities, while in Ekwusigo and lhiala lareas,the UNICEF technical team discovered that many farmlands and some buildings were damaged.
A total of 83 facilities in the seven LGAs were adversely affected by the flood.
One of the technical partners of UNICEF, Mr. Mike Onyemelukwe commended the world body and Anambra State Government for their efforts in ameliorating the plight of the affected persons, adding that it would go a long way in reducing open defecation, which had become rampant in the communities as a result of the flooding.
According to him, open defecation and cholera could be prevented if the facilities required were provided, adding that donor agencies were interested and perturbed in issues concerning women and children.
The Programme Manager of the state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency(RUWASSA) Mr Tochukwu Nwosu appealed to the Anambra State government to continue to support UNICEF in its efforts to provide water and sanitation facilities in communities that did not benefit from UNICEF intervention scheme, stating that some communities not affected by the flood also lacked social amenities.
