Cross section of participants at Yola Nora Community By Rauf Oyewole
Across rural communities in Bauchi State, poor hygiene and sanitation continue to fuel declining health conditions, low productivity and preventable deaths. For women and girls, the situation is even more troubling. Many face avoidable health risks during their menstrual cycles, often forcing girls to miss school and deepening gender-based vulnerabilities.
To reverse this trend and restore dignity to rural women and girls, the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF) and WaterAid Nigeria, in collaboration with FAcE-PaM, have intensified community awareness and empowerment initiatives aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene practices.
The project, implemented in Tafawa Balewa, Misau and Jama’are LGAs, focuses on educating women on the usage of essential hygiene items such as menstrual pads, soap, sanitiser and among others that are not only improve hygiene practices but also serve as income-generating ventures.
According to WaterAid Nigeria’s Business Development Officer in Bauchi, Mr. Kasim Alex Shaibu, the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund Project is funded by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and jointly executed by WaterAid Nigeria and FAcE-PaM.
He noted that the intervention is centred on scaling up household sanitation facilities, enhancing menstrual hygiene management and promoting waste-to-wealth initiatives.
“We are building businesses around sanitation and hygiene products as a way of empowering women and youths,” he said.
Shaibu added that beyond product-use education, the organisations are also training local hygiene entrepreneurs to strengthen their businesses.
“In collaboration with our civil society partner, FAcE-PaM, we identified these entrepreneurs from provision stores, medicine shops and primary healthcare centres,” he explained.
“The goal is to help them focus on establishing sustainable hygiene businesses while strengthening the supply chain. We also aim to reduce the stigma and taboos associated with menstruation in our communities.”
So far, the organisations have reached 65 communities in Jama’are, 60 hard-to-reach communities in Misau and 48 communities in Tafawa Balewa.
In Yola Nora community of Tafawa Balewa LGA, the village head, Alhaji Musa Abubakar, commended the organisations for their contributions to the wellbeing of rural women and youth.
As part of the project, FAcE-PaM and partners trained 25 Community-Based Hygiene Entrepreneurs in each LGA, mostly small business owners already rooted in their local markets.
The Programme Manager of FAcE-PaM/SHF, Engr. Daniel Anietie, said the project focuses on promoting menstrual hygiene and empowering women and girls. According to Anietie, the initiative deliberately prioritises community-level women because of their strategic role in households and their influence within social networks.
“Women are uniquely positioned to promote hygiene products such as soap, sanitary pads, handwashing materials and water treatment solutions,” he stated.
“Their involvement strengthens hygiene outcomes at the household level while creating sustainable income that boosts family economic stability, especially in underserved areas where women have limited livelihood opportunities.”
Similarly, the Hygiene Promotion Officer at Misau LGA, Mrs. Vivian Obi, praised the organisations for complementing government efforts. She emphasised that sanitation and hygiene remain key pillars for the growth and development of communities and assured of government readiness to deepen collaboration.
For beneficiaries, the project is already reshaping perceptions and livelihoods. One participant, Ibrahim Musa, lauded the organisers and pledged to expand hygiene-related sales in his community.
“We now have men buying menstrual pads from us. It shows how much awareness has improved,” he said.
“We will continue to make these products available at the grassroots and help dispel misconceptions around menstrual hygiene.”
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