July 2022
The Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) Programme is supporting a civil society organisation - the Community-Based Initiative for Growth and Sustainability (C-BIGS) - to improve sanitation and hygiene practices. The work is being carried out in the Zuba and Pyakasa communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). To date, the initiative has helped to reduce the spread of cholera to zero cases in 2022 (from nearly 81 reported cases and three deaths in 2021).
C-BIGS received a grant from the ACT programme in 2021 with the objective of improving sanitation and hygiene practices in these communities. The CSO embarked on advocacy, community visits, sensitisation, training, modelling of hygiene best practices and water treatment, as well as supporting a national plan for the control of cholera.
At the end-of-project dissemination event held in July 2022, the Executive Director of C-BIGS, Seyi Olagundoye, reported that the project directly reached at least 500 households with the distribution of water purification tablets (aqua tabs). Indirectly, 5,000 people are benefitting from public water sources that have been monitored and made safe. The project brought about increased collaboration between the community and the environmental and health workers.
The Village Head of Angwa-Pada village in Zuba, Barau Haruna Zuba, commended the work of C-BIGS in his community. He said, “C-BIGS used a community-responsive approach to working with us and respected our timings before scheduling meetings and advocacy visits. These are some of the soft skills that have enabled them to succeed in improving the hygiene and sanitation practices in our community and bringing the number of cholera cases to zero in 2022.”
As a sustainability strategy, volunteers from the Zuba and Pyakasa communities are committed to continuing the sensitisation activities so that the communities keep implementing the improved hygiene and sanitation practices.
"This work has helped us relate with environmental and health workers in a better way. We are now working together to improve the health of our people.”
Uche Micah, Beneficiary
