D-WASHE engages Kalomo chiefs

D-WASHE engages Kalomo chiefs

Kalomo, Feb 4, 2014, ZANIS, – The  Kalomo District Water and Sanitation Health Education (D-WASHE) committee has engaged  the traditional leadership in Kalomo and Zimba districts to maintain hygiene and sanitary standards in an effort to reduce diarrheal diseases in the areas.

 The committee chaired by Foster Nasilele, who is also Kalomo district council secretary has targeted 134, 000 new  latrine users against the current 9,983 in the two districts to attain the sanitation standards as contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The committee with the funding from UNICEF channelled through World Vision Zambia has commenced community meetings and embarked on a sensitization programme to train hygiene promoters in all the villages of the two districts among its 24,228 households under the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) to champion the programme.

Committee members who include personnel from the local civic authorities, Community development mother and child health, Forestry, Water affairs, the agriculture department, the media and chiefs and traditional affairs departments will work with the community to ensure that sound sanitary and hygienic environment are maintained for the rural populace.

All the environmental health technologists in the health centres dotted in the districts have been engaged and with communities forming up Sanitation Action Groups (SAGs).

The programme demands that each household should have a clean latrine with a washing facility, a dish rack and a rubbish pit as a minimum hygiene standard to avoid unnecessary diarrheal diseases.  It also wants each household to be declared as ‘Open Defecation Free’ (ODF)  status areas.

 Currently the usage of pit latrines in the two districts stands at 41 per cent while the programme intends to attain at least 80 per cent by April 30.

Meanwhile, several village headmen in the two districts have welcomed the programme saying efforts made by government with its collaborating partners were actually for their benefit.

All households in the three chiefdoms of Kalomo namely, Chikanta , Sipatunyana, Siachitema and Simwatachela of Zimba district have been targeted.

Chief Macha of the Tonga speaking people of Choma district has won accolades for promoting hygienic and sanitary conditions in all villages under his chiefdom where every household has a pit latrine.