By
Murtala Muhammad
Stakeholders in the Bauchi State’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH are reviewing the sector’s performance and planning, aimed at examining the status of water supply, sanitation and hygiene services, financing, as well as governance.
Radio Nigeria reports that the three-day workshop, was organised by the State Ministry of Water Resources in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi Field Office.
While outlining objectives of the workshop, the Lead Consultant, Mr Francis Ogunpitan, said the participants would discuss the current performance of the sector using the 2026 WASH Sector Status Report and other evidence-based findings.
Mr Francis Ogunpitan stated that major challenges and causes of under-performance in the sector would be identified, facilitate thematic analysis of challenges affecting water supply, sustainability of Open Defecation Free communities, hygiene behaviour change and data use for planning purposes.
According to him, the participants would develop and prioritise actionable plans for sector improvement, by agreeing on priority actions, responsibilities, timelines, and implementation strategies.
He stated that the workshop would also discuss strengthening accountability mechanism, enhance coordination and stakeholder commitments, define institutional roles, secure partner commitments, and enhance coordination among stakeholders.
In a remark, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Water Resources, Mohammed Tela Sama’ila described as timely considering the need to finalize and validate a consensus-based State WASH Compact, aimed at strengthening the system.
Also speaking, a WASH Specialist with UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Stella Ofeoma Tever, called on the participants to be attentive and make necessary inputs that would be beneficial to the state’s WASH Compact and monitoring framework.
The workshop attracted participants from the state ministries of Education, Health, Women Affairs and Child Development, Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, Civil Society Organisations and other partners.
