by Mwenya Mukuka
Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) and United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable ZCCB implement water, sanitation and hygiene relevant workshops.
The workshops will be in collaborations with the various Catholic dioceses that target church-going populations with existing gaps in the knowledge, attitudes and practice.
And speaking at the planning meeting for the MoU implementation in Lusaka, Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection Acting Director for Water Supply and Sanitation said that the Church is better placed to engage communities on behavioural change in hygiene. He said that the government is also pleased to work with the Church in ending open defecation as it aims at achieving its Vision 2030 where it plans to see 90 percent of Zambia’s population have access to sanitation and consequently reduce diseases. He also announced that the government is in the process of putting mechanisms in place to create a Water and Sanitation Fund.
The UNICEF Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) Specialist acknowledged the Church’s critical role in driving the sanitation agenda.
Under the MoU which will run up to March 2018, Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, UNICEF and other relevant stakeholders will be responsible for creating a schedule for information dissemination and sharing on sanitation and hygiene.
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