By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
Water is central to National development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development especially Sustainable Development Goal 6 which set out to “ensure availability and sustainable management of Water and Sanitation for all by the year 2023.
Sustainable Development Goals 6 is critical to the achievement of all other Sustainable Development Goals as it has strong linkage to Health, Saniataion, Education, Agriculture, Rural Development, Tourism, Transportation and indeed the Environment. It also has direct and rapid impact on poverty eradication and employment generation.
This underscores the high priority this Administration accords to the provision of adequate water supply, improved sanitation and irrigated agriculture for improvement of the living standards of the citizenry. 4.
In her remarks at the ceremon,the Permanent Secretar, Federa Ministry Of Water Resources Mrs Didi Esther Walson said due to the aforementioned reasons, the theme for this year’s Council Meeting is “Actualizing sustainable Development Goals 6 adding that the theme was carefully chosen, bearing in mind that we are just seven (7) years away from the target year set for achieving SDG6.
“We should review our strategies particularly in the area of implementation of projects and programmes, identify gaps and proffer solutions on the way forward to overcoming the challenges. You are therefore enjoined to align the discussions and memoranda towards addressing core issues of the theme.5. Permit me to mention that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources is currently developing a Strategic Plan for the coordination and tracking of the implementation of SDG-6 in Nigeria. Specifically, the plan is to provide guidance and sustainable pathway for various stakeholders in the Water Sector to monitor the level of implementation of SDG6, across the eight (8) hydrological areas of the country. In similar vein, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources recently conducted the Voluntary National Review on the implementation of SDG6 with a view to showcasing the status of its implementation in the country. The two Strategic Documents are therefore the outcomes of the wide and in-depth consultations undertaken by the Ministry, in order to ensure that SDG6 is mainstreamed and integrated into the various policies and plans in the Sector.
Didi reiterate that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources has implemented a number of laudable initiatives, projects and programmes focusing on ensuring sustainable management of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Nigerians. The identified initiatives, projects and programmes include but not limited to the following: Declaration of a “State of Emergency” and the overarching launch of the WASH National Action Plan aimed at ensuring universal access to sustainable and safely managed WASH services by 2030.Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) designed to serve as an effective platform for the coordination and management of public water supply and sanitation facilities in the country, especially ensuring increased access to safe water supply, adequate sanitation and hygiene in the rural areas.Sustainable Rural and Urban Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) programme which is a loan facility amounting to U$700 Million from the World Bank to support the implementation of the WASH National Action Plan.
She said the objective of the programme is to improve the Urban, Small Town and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene as well as to strengthen sector institutions in participating states of Nigeria.The launch of Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign as well as signing of the Executive Order by Mr. President to end open defecation in Nigeria by the year 2025.Rivers and open bodies monitoring activities for improving the qualities of Nigeria Rivers and open bodies in, accordance with SDG target 6.3.2 aimed at achieving 100% proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality in Nigeria by 2030.WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH-NORM) was carried out by the Ministry in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and UNICEF. The aim of the WASHNORM is for generation of the real time data for monitoring progress towards the attainment of the SDG, target 6.1 and 6.2.7. I have the belief that, with the array of experts in the hall, our major assignment at this gathering which is to generate quality and thoughtful memoranda for discussion and ultimate consideration of the Council, is simple. I therefore urge members to participate actively in the discussion and imbibe a team work approach, in the task of collating the memoranda that would guide in the policy direction for the improvement of the Water Sector for enhanced service delivery.8.
Earlier, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Water Resources Dahiru Yusuf Yabo who declared the ceremony opened, commended them for choosing Sokoto as their venue to organise the ceremony saying Sokoto government will do all it can to make the convenient for attendants.
Federal and State Commissioners, Directors and other stakeholders across the country attended the three days ceremony conducted at International Conference Centre Kasarawa
