Journalists and communicators got involved on Saturday during a workshop, initiated by the network of African Journalists' Initiatives for Cooperation and Development (IJACOD) in partnership with the NGO Wateraid, to support the actions of the Transitional government for better access to water, hygiene and sanitation for the populations.
"The general objective of the workshop is to inform journalists about the commitments of the government of the Political Transition of Burkina Faso, in order to set up a platform for democratic dialogue of questioning and accountability", suggested the Executive Secretary of the Network of African Journalists' Initiatives for Cooperation and Development (IJACOD), Jean Victor Ouédraogo.
For him, this workshop aims to facilitate the effectiveness of rights of access to water, hygiene and sanitation in Burkina Faso.
Mr. Ouédraogo was speaking on Saturday in Ouagadougou, at the end of a 48-hour information and exchange workshop, for the benefit of journalists and communicators on the effectiveness of rights of access to water, hygiene and sanitation for the population.
According to him, these two days of reflection allowed the participants to have useful knowledge for better access to information, but also and above all, to formulate strong actions for campaigns of questioning, accountability and education so that people enjoy their right of access to water, recognized by the Constitution.
To this end, Jean Victor Ouédraogo indicated that the members of the network are committed, among other things, to monitoring the implementation of the government's commitments through the production of quality press articles on drinking water, hygiene and sanitation.
"This is why I would like to make a strong appeal to Wateraid, the government and other partners, for substantial support in the implementation of the recommendations and strong actions identified by the participants in this workshop", he said. He wishes.
Wateraid Country Director Eric Mamboué recalled that according to figures from the 2021 performance report for the environment, water and sanitation sector, sanitation access rates increased from 19.8% in 2016 to 26.8% in 2021.
“With regard to access to drinking water, the access rate has increased from 72.4% in 2016 to 76.2% in 2021 with disparities on the territory. These figures challenge us to greater commitment and action,” Mr. Mamboué invited.
The Country Director of Wateraid also lamented the fact that Burkina Faso has not yet achieved the Sustainable Development Goals, like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Eric Mamboué said to reaffirm WaterAid's commitment to work with journalists and the media, in order to facilitate the effectiveness of universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services.
It should be noted that the Transition government intends to drill 500 solar-powered boreholes by December 2023 to further relieve vulnerable populations
Source: Burkina Information Agency