Lagos State Government has embarked on measures to eradicate defecation in public places by adopting the Community Led Total Sanitation model. At a six-day Train the Trainers’ Workshop on CLTS held in Lekki, Lagos, Commissioner for Rural Development Cornelius Ojelabi, said: “The adoption of this model is sequel to the global and national successes recorded by the approach and our quest for excellence”. Read the rest of this story in Vanguard, 28th January 2012

In a noble move, the state government on Saturday announced the decision to use women sportspersons to promote sanitation and hygiene in Jharkhand. Deputy chief minister Hemant Soren, who is in-charge of the drinking water and sanitation department, said the department had already taken a decision and the officials would soon prepare a list of women sportspersons, including those who were not active today but have brought laurels to country and the state in national and international events in the past.

In Ghana, the latest statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2012 shows that only 15 per cent (3.7 million) Ghanaians have access to clean, safe improved toilets in their homes, 58 per cent of the population share toilets with their neighbours or use public toilets and another 4.6 million Ghanaians defecate in the open daily.

Uttering the word ‘defecation’ is often considered impolite. People say ‘going to the back’ and ‘folding legs’. Many people also ask where to wash their hands rather than where the toilet is, avoiding the ‘dirty’ word for the sake of politeness. While talking openly about defecation may cause discomfort or embarrassment, it is a topic we all need to discuss.