Nestlé has reaffirmed its commitment to improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Nigeria, even as it recently launched WASH facilities in Ogun state.
An estimated 100 million Nigerians are said to lack basic sanitation facilities and 63 million do not have access to improved sources of drinking-water, underscoring the need for consistent multi-stakeholder action to increase access.
As efforts to tackle poor WASH in the country, Nestlé Nigeria has delivered projects aimed at providing clean and safe drinking water as well as WASH facilities for individuals, families and communities where it operates. Over the past three years, 11 WASH projects have been donated in Ogun State and Abaji within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. In 2021 alone, the company commissioned four water and sanitation facilities in schools around her operations, reaching over 1,600 learners and educators.
Recently, Nestlé commissioned another WASH facilities in All Saints Primary School Owode, Ogun state. The facilities which will serve over 500 individuals including educators, learners and families within the community is further evidence of the company’s commitment to enhancing quality of life and building thriving communities closest to her operations.
Nestlé Nigeria’s Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Victoria Uwadoka, said, “We recognize the fact that water and sanitation are essential to life and wellbeing. They are therefore, at the core of improving livelihood in any community. This is why Nestlé Nigeria has been at the forefront of actions to increase access to water and sanitation facilities in the communities closest to its operations, especially in the Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK) beneficiary schools.
“The project we are commissioning today brings the total number of Nestlé donated Community WASH facilities in Ogun State to 14. This is one more step towards attaining our objective of making access to water a reality in every school within the N4HK program in support of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG-6), which is ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. We will continue to work with our partners, especially the Ogun State Universal Education Board, SUBEB to increase availability.”
Nestlé for Healthier Kids is a school-based nutrition and health education program built on four pillars: Healthy Nutrition, Healthy Hydration, Physical Activity and Hygiene. Victoria explained that Hygiene, being one of the pillars of N4HK, cannot be taught or practiced without basic water and sanitation facilities on site.
In his remarks, the Board Chairperson of Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, said: “It is gratifying to note that this worthwhile project which is one of many embarked upon by Nestlé in continuation of the company’s commitment to ensure that all
the 20 schools within the Nestlé for Healthier Kids program are provided with water and sanitation facilities to promote healthier lives among the children.”
Majekodunmi then called on the PTA as well as the school authorities to judiciously utilize and ensure that the facilities are well secured and preserved for continuous use.
On his part, the Honorable Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, ably represented by Mr Oluwatosin Sofoluwe, Deputy Zonal Education Officer for Obafemi Owode, while commending Nestlé for partnering with the Ogun State Government on the provision of facilities for public schools, stated that children’s ability to learn can be affected by inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene conditions.
The Program Manager, Ogun State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Mr Sola Ogumbo commended Nestlé’s support and investments in building thriving communities, particularly in the WASH sector of the state. He stated that this aligns with the commitment of the Ogun State Government to meet the SDG goal 6, ensuring water and sanitation for all by 2030.
The primary five students of the school expressed their appreciation of the provision of WASH facilities within the school premises.
