WORLD TOILET DAY: FCT RUWASSA INTENSIFIES SENSITIZATION IN KARMO AND KATAMPE ONE COMMUNITIES

By: Suzanne Ejewofu George and Adama Aminu

As part of activities marking the 2025 World Toilet Day celebration, the Federal Capital Territory Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (FCT RUWASSA) has embarked on intensified community sensitization campaigns across the FCT, with major engagements held in Karmo Market and Katampe One Community in Bwari Area Council.

On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, the FCT RUWASSA Sanitation Department, led by the Head of Department, Chinyere Arayi, carried out a one-day sanitation awareness campaign at Karmo Market.

The outreach focused on educating traders about proper toilet use and the importance of maintaining a hygienic environment.

During the exercise, the Chairman of Karmo Market, Alhaji Abdullahi Lawali, disclosed that the market executives had set up a committee to apprehend sanitation offenders, adding that fines had been introduced for individuals caught practicing open defecation.

The campaign also featured an inspection of the community’s public toilet facilities by RUWASSA environmental officers.

In continuation of its awareness drive, FCT RUWASSA joined the global community on November 19 to commemorate World Toilet Day, an event established by the United Nations General Assembly to draw attention to the global sanitation crisis. This year’s celebration, themed “Toilets: We’ll always need the toilet,” was held at Katampe One Community in the Bwari Area Council.

Addressing residents, the Acting Director of FCT RUWASSA, Abigail Patricia Ekpenisi, encouraged proper toilet use and urged community members to desist from open defecation to prevent diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, and typhoid. She stressed that ending open defecation requires collective effort, noting that “change of attitude starts with me and you.” She also called on women and WASHCOM members to collaborate in addressing sanitation challenges.

The Chief of Katampe One, Alhaji Adamu Diga, applauded RUWASSA for the sensitization outreach and emphasized that cleanliness is essential for healthy living.

He appealed to stakeholders to support the community by constructing public toilets in the primary school and providing boreholes for villages that depend on river water, which exposes them to waterborne diseases.

Representing the Head of the Environmental Department, Bwari Area Council, Alhaji Sani Adamu, the WASHCOM Coordinator, Alheri Danjuma, expressed appreciation to RUWASSA for choosing the community for the World Toilet Day commemoration.

She assured that ongoing sensitization efforts would be intensified to achieve the national goal of ending open defecation.

The event concluded with a visit to the public primary school in Katampe One, where the team continued its sensitization activities.