Harpic, Nigeria’s leading toilet cleaning brand manufactured by Reckitt, has in partnership with the Federal Ministries of Water Resources and Environment, and the Lagos State Ministry of Environment celebrated the 2021 World Toilet Day, aimed at creating awareness on dangers of open defecation.
The two events were held in Abuja and Lagos to call attention to the need to put up more public toilets at strategic locations to eradicate open defecation and promote good public health.
Harpic also refurbished five public toilets in Lagos Island, Mushin, Bariga/Iyana Oworo, Iyana Ipaja, and Iyana Isolo in Lagos State.
On the refurbishment, Tanzim Rezwan, marketing director, Reckitt Sub Saharan Africa, said that lack of safe toilets can threaten people’s health as poor sanitation contaminates drinking-water sources, rivers, beaches, food crops, and can spread deadly diseases among the wider population.
“It has been said that eliminating open defecation can be done by changing social behaviour and building basic and well-managed sanitation systems in our communities. Over the years, Harpic has been a champion in providing access to sanitation solutions in Nigeria, and it is the reason we have been educating people on the importance of toilet hygiene,” he explained.
According to him, Harpic believed that the toilet refurbishment will impact the lives of people and will help to tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 – water and sanitation for all by 2030.
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He appealed to communities where the toilets were situated to preserve and look after the toilets.
At the 2021 World Toilet Day event in Abuja held in collaboration with Reckitt, Sharon Ikeazor, Minister of State for Environment, who was represented by Hassan Musa, permanent secretary, commended the effort of the private sector in the provision of toilet facilities across the country and challenged them to do more in order to prevent diseases that come with open defecation.
Sulaimon Hussein Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, who highlighted the progress recorded in, the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign,’ urged the private sector to continue to partner with the government to ensure Nigeria is open defecation free by 2025.
At the event in Lagos, Tunji Bello, commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, represented by Joe Igbokwe, special adviser, Drainage and Water Resources, applauded Reckitt for its continued collaboration with the state government in holding the annual event.
It is estimated that 46 million people still practices open defecation in Nigeria with its attendant economic danger as poor sanitation in Nigeria is estimated to result in N455 billion yearly losses.
United Nations earmarked 19 November as the World Toilet Day to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and this year’s event was themed ‘Valuing Toilets’.
Over the past five years, Reckitt through its Harpic brand has taken the responsibility of driving awareness on hygienic toilets through the door-to-door programme that educates consumers on the need for proper sanitation by training them on how to ensure a hygienic toilet.
The brand has also donated over 150 public toilet units to communities in Nigeria as a commitment to driving safe sanitation awareness.
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