Oyo State Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) in collaboration with Heineken African Foundation (HAF), Wateraid Nigeria (WANG) and Living World Mission (LIWOM) conducted training on hand washing facilities operation and maintenance for focal persons.
The one-day training which was aimed at guiding health workers, community leaders and management of the institutions where hand washing facilities were installed was held on Thursday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
While speaking the chairman of Oyo RUWASSA, Engr. Najeem Omirinde, said that the training was organized to guide 29 focal officers from primary health centers, community leaders and organizations on how to maintain the hand washing facilities that are being put in place through the Scale-Up Hygiene Project III in Oyo state.
Omirinde who was represented by Mr. Adegoke Ayodele said: “We will expect the beneficiaries of this project to take this training seriously so that they can go on to maximize the lessons and the privilege of this program.
“We want our people, starting from our health care workers to community leaders to learn how to maintain the hand washing facilities at the end of the program.”
Also speaking on behalf of Marcus William, LIWOM, Country Lead, Mrs Adeniyi Bukola explained the essence and value of maintaining proper use of the hand washing facilities
In her words: “It is critical that all hand washing facilities are kept fully operational and clean to reduce transmission of virus. The specific maintenance management will help to optimize the reliability of the hand washing facilities and also ensure that the equipment and infrastructure are always in good condition.
“The maintenance is also necessary to ensure that the owners, such as community, institutions, organizations are expected to carry out prompt emergency repair of equipment and infrastructure to secure best possible availability for production.”
Addressing the participants during the training, the facilitator, Mr Adediran Oluwakayode from Oyo State Primary Health Care Board said the facility caretakers are expected to provide and refill soap and water for hand washing and also ensure that there’s daily cleaning and disinfection of the facilities.
He said: “We should also carry out routine maintenance and replacement of worn-out parts. There should also be routine monitoring to ascertain functionality of hand washing facilities. He said data should be collected and should include functionality, cleanliness and if possible hand hygiene practice.
“Users feedback should also be collected to help inform future improvements to the design, its accessibility.”
Reacting to the training, Mrs. Oladoyinbo, a matron from Oniyanrin Primary Health Care Center said: “We appreciate the organizers of this initiative. It will go a long way in bringing enlightenment to our communities. We were taught different things today on maintenance. We appreciate them.”
Also, another participant of the training, Adekoya Opeyemi from Jericho Specialist Hospital, said: “I learnt a lot on proper maintenance and cleanliness to prevent us from diseases. I will go back and check out these facilities and sort them out.”
