The Catholic Relief Services (CRS), an international non-governmental organisation, has donated items to the Northern Region Coordinating Council (NRCC) to support the Regional Minister’s “Clean Northern Region” initiative to get rid of filth in the region.

The items include; seven wheelbarrows, 30 boxes of face masks, 50 pairs of hand gloves, 30 pieces of rakes and 30 pieces of long handle brooms.

Head of Programming at CRS, Ms Carolyn Edlebeck who presented the items to the Regional Minister at the NRCC in Tamale, lauded the initiative and assured the Regional Minister of CRS’ commitment to supporting such initiatives aimed at improving the general health and well-being of everyone.

She said the initiative was in line with the objectives of CRS’ Urban WASH and Resilience Project, which sought to increase the uptake of household toilets by urban residents, promote a city-wide inclusive sanitation planning approach and mitigate water scarcity through the water fund approach.

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, on May 20 this year, launched the “Clean Northern Region” Initiative aimed to get rid of filth in the region and create a hygienic, safe and conducive environment to improve the health of residents and for businesses to thrive.

As part of the initiative, the last Saturday of every month is to be observed as Northern Regional Sanitation Day. This is to enable all residents to embark on clean-up exercises in major communities and districts across the region to clear refuse, collect plastics, polyethene, clean gutters, and desilt drainages, among others.

Alhaji Saibu, who received the items, emphasised that a clean region is hygienic, safe and conducive to improve the health of the people and allow businesses to thrive and increase productivity.

He expressed appreciation to CRS for the gesture and gave assurance that the items would be used for the intended purposes.