By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja

THE Minister of Water Resources Engr Suleiman Adamu, yesterday, explained why the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Federal Ministry of Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on schoolWASH Programme for federal educational institutions across the country, which is to deliberately develop a joint initiative targeted at improving access to WASH services in the educational institutions.

Adamu said: “The water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) are crosscutting issues that impact on different sectors including education, health as well as economy, among others under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, targets 6.1 and 6. 2 which are the WASH targets that seek to achieve universal and equitable access to safely managed drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services for all.

“Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene is fundamental to the health and well-being of students and staff members and is a prerequisite for quality education. We believe that this partnership will go a long way.

“My Ministry has already made the needed budgetary provision for the take-off of the SchoolWASH programme in its 2023 budget appropriation and we are confident that we will make appreciable progress in achieving universal WASH coverage in our schools by the year 2030.”

According to the Minister, his Ministry is also working with the Federal Ministries of Health, and Youth and Sports Development to roll out similar WASH programmes targeted at healthcare facilities and the youths respectively.

“We are committed to building more partnerships and collaborations within and across Sectors to ensure that the deliberate and sustained attention required to meet the SDG targets by 2030 are in place.

“The contribution and commitment of everyone; viz Government at all levels, civil society, private sector, development partners, traditional and religious institutions, and the entire populace is critical in this regard”, he added.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, commended the move by the Minister of Water Resources and the objectives of the MoU that have brought about collaboration between the two Ministries on the heels of improving WASH facilities and services in Federal Government-owned educational institutions across the country.

Adamu also acknowledged the efforts and achievements of the Water Resources Minister in the WASH subsector and campaign to end Open Defecation in the country, which the impacts he said are felt across the country as both the private and public sectors are keying into them.

Meanwhile, the Education Minister assured his Water Resources counterpart of the collaboration, and that he will ensure the terms of the MoU are achieved and positively impact the health and well-being of students, management and staff of the various institutions.

He also expressed hope that the partnership between the two Ministries will drastically reduce the spread of waterborne diseases and promote good hygiene practices.