By Onwa Ekor
Cross River government, with
support from Self Help Africa (SHA) under the WASH Systems for Health (WS4H) programme,
funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has officially
launched the Cross River Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Policy.
The launch is aimed at strengthening improved WASH governance, service delivery and advance public health outcomes across the state.
It also reflects the state’s commitment to improving WASH services, even as the policy promotes accountability and transparency in WASH service delivery, addressing the performance of state-owned service providers, internalising national and international
policies, principles and approaches, as well as presenting a framework for legislative reform.
Speaking at the launch, which took place, Friday, at the Mary Ekpiken Hall, Channel View, Calabar, the Permanent Secretary, Cross River Ministry of Water
Resources, Dr. Okon Ita, reiterated the state government’s commitment to strengthening the WASH sector.
His words: “The state government is committed to having an organised WASH sector, so this launch is a deliberate attempt by the state to formulate ideas, principles, plans, guidelines,
rules, procedures, standards and practices for the implementation of water governance in
the state.”
Country Director of Self Help Africa, Joy Aderele, stressed the
need for inclusive governance and multi-sectoral collaboration to drive sustainable
improvements in the WASH sector, noting that “good WASH governance involves making the right decisions and implementing them effectively by leveraging partnerships for
sustainable change within the sector.”
Earlier, in his address presented by the Commissioner for Water Resources, Barr Bassey Mensah, the Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, remarked that the launching of the WASH policy represents a collective promise to communities to ensure safe water, dignified sanitation, improved hygiene practices and healthy lives.
Otu reminded stakeholders at the event that the true value of the policy lies in its implementation and impact.
He applauded SHA for its invaluable technical and financial support through the WASH systems for health programme, maintaining that “SHA collaboration with the state strengthened the review process and ensured that the policy was formulated in line with global best practices while remaining locally relevant.”
It would be recalled that Self Help Africa, through its WS4H programme, offered significant support to the review and
development of the Cross River WASH policy.
The programme attained notable milestones, not limited to supporting the review process of the Cross River WASH policy, from joint
stakeholder review to validation and approval by the governor, Prince Bassey Otu.
SHA also rallied around the State Task Group (STG) on WASH to facilitate the signing of the
Water Bill into Water Law in 2025 and assisted programme implementation in Obubra local government area, funded by the Cross River government through its counterpart fund release to scale up the WS4H programme.
SHA also rehabilitated and upgraded 35 water facilities in 28 selected communities
across 14 council wards in Yala local government area, among others.
