By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector to boost service delivery and public health.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, Samaila Tela, disclosed this during a three-day WASH sector review meeting in Bauchi.
The event was organized by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Tela emphasized that the WASH sector impacts all areas of human existence, pointing out that relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are working with the support of UNICEF and other partners to develop a unified policy direction for the state.
“This review meeting is critical to identifying existing gaps and blocking leakages for the benefit of our people,”
” I commend UNICEF for supporting the review meeting which will definitely identify gaps and how to block such for the good of the State” he said.
Speaking at the event, the UNICEF WASH Specialist, Stella Ifeoma explained that the sector performance review brought together government bodies, donors, and civil society organizations to evaluate state progress.
“We are here today as part of the WASH sector collaboration between UNICEF and the relevant state stakeholders, including RUWASSA, to conduct what we call the Sector Performance Review.”
“The essence of the WASH Sector Performance Review is to bring together all key players in the WASH sector in Bauchi State — government institutions, development partners, donors, technical support organizations, and civil society organizations — to collectively assess the performance of the sector.”
“We are looking at several critical questions:
How far have we come as a sector? Are we still on track with the roadmap and plans previously developed? What achievements have been recorded? What gaps and bottlenecks still exist? What is the level of government investment and expenditure in WASH? How can government’s spending and donor investments be properly tracked and documented?”
“Another important issue we are examining is data management. Do we truly have reliable data that can help us measure sector performance effectively? As discussed during the first day of the review, the findings show that Bauchi State is making commendable progress, but there are still significant gaps that need to be addressed.”
“One major challenge is the fragmentation of WASH data. Data currently exists in different sectors and institutions — from health, education, the Ministry of Women Affairs, donors, and implementing partners — with each organization often using its own reporting platform or dashboard.”
“However, Nigeria already has a nationally approved reporting platform known as WASHIMS — the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Information Management System. The lack of harmonization among existing reporting systems has created inconsistencies in WASH data management”.
“One of the major objectives of this review is therefore to ensure that Bauchi State develops a harmonized and unified system for WASH data reporting so that sector performance can be properly measured and tracked.
Ultimately, this process is about improving the overall performance of the WASH sector.”
“Bauchi State is doing relatively well, but we know there is room for improvement. For instance, we are reviewing the state’s progress towards achieving statewide Open Defecation Free status and, more importantly, the sustainability of the gains already achieved. The discussions on the second day are focused on identifying the gaps, challenges, and root causes, while also collectively developing practical solutions.”
“By the third day, stakeholders will consolidate recommendations and actionable strategies that will help move the state forward in water supply, sanitation, hygiene services, governance, and sector reporting systems”.
“My overall goal is to see all stakeholders actively involved in strengthening the WASH sector. This is not the responsibility of government alone. Development partners, private sector actors, civil society organizations, community leaders, and citizens all have important roles to play. The ultimate aim is to ensure that the Bauchi State Government remains firmly in the driving seat and that the performance of the WASH sector in Bauchi State reaches an enviable standard” She said.
Also speaking, Acting General Manager of RUWASSA, Bala Zailani, assured that the Agency will continue to support access to WASH activities in order to have a healthy society.
He commended UNICEF and other State actors and partners for their contributions to strengthening the WASH sector of the State through various interventions.
