Hasken Matasa: “Poverty, Improper Town Planning, Others Responsible for Open Defecation,” Health Expert

Hasken Matasa: “Poverty, Improper Town Planning, Others Responsible for Open Defecation,” Health Expert

AREWA AGENDA – Dr Salisu Inuwa of the Infection Control Unit, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), has said, lack of awareness, improper town planning, poverty and inadequate water supply are factors responsible for open defecation practices.

He made this known when he appeared as a guest on Hasken Matasa – a radio programme where issues concerning youths and social vices are discussed, to talk on ‘World Toilet Day; Impact of Open Defecation to our Health.’

“According to a study in 2019, over forty-six (46) million people practice open defecation all over the world, leading to dispersal of pathogenic microorganisms found in human waste either by wind or through water bodies.

“Diarrhoea diseases, cholera, stunted growth, typhoid, trachoma – root cause of visual impairment transmitted by flies that breed on human excreta, snail fever are a few out of many health issues associated with practicing open defecation in any part of the world.” Dr Inuwa said.

Another guest on the show Yakubu Idris, member Hasken Matasa Listeners Club said, “It is unfortunate that some people who practice this try to go far away from populated areas, unknowing to them far or near the damage caused is still the same.”

To address this, the guest advised the government to ensure proper town planning with provision for building toilets and urged Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to engage in sensitisation, especially at the grassroots level.

He equally advised all plazas and supermarkets to build restrooms, tax themselves and employ people in order to keep the place up and running, and finally called on philanthropist to build mobile toilets so people do not have to defecate or urinate by the road.

Hasken Matasa, which literally translates into “Light of the Youths”, is a weekly programme on topical youth oriented issues organised by the Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) and the Youth Society for Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Social Vices (YOSPIS), is sponsored by the Aminu Magashi Garba Foundation (AMG Foundation).