The Katsina government, with the support of UNICEF, has commenced a five-day extensive training for faecal sludge management (FSM), aimed at sustaining the state’s open defecation-free status.

The training, which aims to equip participants with the technical knowledge for safe evacuation, treatment, and disposal of human waste, is being conducted by the State’s Environmental Protection Agency.

Participating local government areas include Rimi, Batagarawa and Katsina.

Stella Okafor-Terver, the WASH programme officer at UNICEF in Kano, disclosed that recently, Katsina state had been declared the second ODF state in Nigeria, after Jigawa.

She stated that the training and initiative, therefore, aimed to support the state in maintaining its hard-earned ODF status while protecting the health and safety of sanitation workers.

According to her, before the training, many operators practised manual evacuation without protective gear, exposing themselves to serious occupational hazards.

”The training will tackle these challenges head-on by providing personal protective equipment (PPE) and clear operational guidelines to promote hygienic and environmentally safe practices. The training is also not just about skills, but dignity, safety, and sustainability. Guidelines for the FSM are now being finalised, with government commitment to operationalise them across the state,” she said.

She noted that for the first time, the state government had issued certificates to trained FSM and created an official database to track their operations.

She said this effort introduces professionalism into a previously unregulated sector, ensuring accountability and standardisation.

”Similarly, UNICEF, through the state’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, has trained toilet business owners, focusing on ‘Climate-Resilient Toilet Technologies and Sanitation Marketing Strategies’,” she revealed.

The UNICEF specialist said that the programme introduced entrepreneurs to different toilet designs adaptable to local conditions, empowering them to promote improved sanitation facilities to households and institutions.

“By strengthening the sanitation business ecosystem, the initiative aims to create jobs while ensuring that improved toilet options are accessible and affordable for all,” she added.

Earlier, Mustapha Abdullahi, the planning, monitoring and evaluation officer at RUWASSA, and UNICEF focal person, said that a plan was on the way to extend the training to other local government areas.

According to him, about 95 participants are participating in the training.

(NAN)