The Yobe government has declared Machina, Bade and Fune local government areas open defecation-free.

Liman Baba, the general manager, state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA), said this at the opening of a one-day workshop in Potiskum on Monday.

The workshop, jointly organised by RUWASA and UNICEF, had the theme “To Develop Comprehensive Roadmap Document Towards Achieving ODF Status in Yobe.”

According to Mr Baba, the document will enable the remaining 14 local government areas to attain the open defecation-free status.

The general manager added that “the workshop is aimed at meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.0 target of ensuring open defecation free by all nations by the year 2030.

“The workshop will make all stakeholders to be more responsible and come up with a commitment to achieving the strategic objective to be developed at the end of it.

“Yobe will attain ODF status between 2025 and 2030 as agreed upon by all nations, including Nigeria.”

He noted that open defecation is a major cause of water-borne diseases, including cholera, diarrhoea and hepatitis.

A facilitator, Abubakar Moi, urged participants to intensify the campaign against open defecation in their localities.

Mr Moi, also the UNICEF desk officer at RUWASA, said increased stakeholder engagement would minimise the rate of open defecation in the state.

(NAN)