WaterAid and PepsiCo Foundation, with Lagos State, have inaugurated a 10,000-litre capacity solar-powered borehole, rehabilitated toilets and built an inclusive, female-friendly toilet, for Agidingbi Junior Grammar School, Ogudu, Lagos.
This is in line with the firms’ three-year intervention tagged; ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Project’, to promote safely managed sanitation and provision of clean water.
As part of its objective in strengthening systems and institutions, WaterAid trained 35 female mechanics in three councils, while also establishing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committee (WASHCOM).
It also included handwashing facilities, three compartments of shower in female toilets, pad banks to help girls manage their periods in school, a ramp with a handrail for persons on a wheel chair and sufficient space for convenience.
Country Director of WaterAid, Evelyn Mere, said: “Lack of clean water and decent toilets is threatening health, education and safety of children. The child’s right to education water and sanitation should not be compromised.
“Children deserve healthy learning environment. Lack of access to WASH facilities can lower attendance and achievement in schools.WaterAid believes menstruation-induced school absenteeism is preventable and that higher school enrolment, completion and transition rates among girls can be achieved.
President of PepsiCo Foundation and Global Head of Social Impact for PepsiCo, C.D. Glin, said: “We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with WaterAid and the transformative work taking place in Lagos state to give access to the basic human right of clean, safe water. “This work builds on over 15 years of PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation, and reaching more than 80 million people, including 12 million people in 2022 alone, with access to safe water through distribution, purification and conservation programs. These efforts put us more than halfway to our pep- goal of reaching 100 million people with safe water access by 2030,” he said.
