Water Aid Nigeria with the aid of Coca Cola Foundation has renovated and upgraded the Obinofia Ndiuno health center in Ezeagu local government area of Enugu State with new toilets and hand washing facilities.

The Country Director Water Aid Nigeria, Evelyn Mere on Friday 3rd September 2021 handed over the Sanitary and water facilities to the Chairman of Ezeagu local government area, Hon Chukwudi Ani at Obinofia Ndiuno health center in Ezeagu local government area of Enugu State.

The country Director while handing over the facilities to the Chairman emphasized that part of the programme Water Aid does is, Wash -in- health -care programme were hygiene can be practised adequately and People are protected.

According to her, “When we look at health care facilities, first thing that comes in mind is preventing infection transmission. We have a situation were doctors and nurses treat people, touch somebody, examine them, when the next patient is coming, you have no where to wash your hands, you just continue with the same hand on the next person”.

“If you are not careful, you just transmit infection from one person to another. The health care workers are themselves vulnerable to contaminating themselves with what they picked from other people because they have no where to wash their hands. It leaves the Doctors and Health care facility workers and patients vulnerable”.

“They come with one thing and leave with a new thing when they are going, and it becomes a horrible story.
What we have come to do here is to build on the health care system and strengthen it, but most importantly is that we strengthen the responsibility of the Citizens”.

She further urge the Wash Com and town Union members to take over from where Water Aid have stopped by doing reticulation and setting up a kiosk model outside the health centre where community members will come and fetch good water.

She also advise them to make sure they maintain and sustain the water project and not allow it to dilapidate, stressing that what they have done is to keep the place alive , keep people safe and give community access to public health care.

The Head of programme, Water Aid Nigeria, Adebayo Alaoo earlier in his speech noted that the last time they visited the health center. They discovered that the water was not coming into the building and the tank was also leaking, adding that the Country Director was not happy with the situation.

Alaoo stated that the Country Director promised that Water Aid must do a comprehensive rehabilitation of the building, by bringing water into the building, install all the sanitation facilities both the toilets and hand washing water facilities, and repaint the entire building both in and out, repair the leaking roof and cement the health sector, which she has finally done.

He advise them to make sure they maintain and sustain the water project by reticulating the water outside the health center compound, so that community members will fetch water outside. He further encourage them to make sure that every house in Obinofia Ndiuno community has toilets in their various homes to avoid open defecation and water contamination.

He furthermore advise them to make sure that their environment is always kept clean by taking care of the medical waste.

The Chairman of Ezeagu local government area Hon Chukwudi Ani who was represented by his Deputy Chairman Hon Romanus Chude thank Water Aid Nigeria for upgrading their community health center. He said that the local government council in conjunction with the State government will like to continue to patner with them.

Ani assured that they will maintain and sustain the water project, also make sure they provide security for the project.