The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Water, Forestry and Wildlife, UNICEF and Department of Community Development, recently held a day-long sensitisation programme on the elimination of open defecation for Central River Region Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) members in Janjangbureh. The forum was meant to raise awareness among the population, through the TAC members, to change their behaviour with regard to open defecation and disposal of human excreta. In his opening remarks on behalf of the governor, the deputy governor of Central River Region, Alh. Malang Saibo Camara, underscored the importance of the sensitisation programme, noting that it would help eliminate open defecation in the region. He explained that the sensitisation programme is a follow-up on the declaration to end open defecation in The Gambia, which was held in Delegas village in Lower Fulladu District, CRR south, as a call for action by the Office of the President. "Community-led total sanitation approach is a process which starts with identification and assessment of communities for open defecation, followed by triggering and development of community action plans for the abandonment of open defecation practice through construction of latrines in each compound", he explained. Deputy Governor Camara further indicated that the government is committed to fostering a strong partnership with the private sector, which, he noted, also has a greater stake in ensuring that we build a healthy nation as enshrined in vision 2020. Chaba Saidyleigh, the UNICEF focal point at the Department of Water Resources, who also doubles as national trainer for Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), disclosed that the CLTS concept was introduced in the region in 2010 in an attempt to improve sanitation in the region. The approach, he said, aims to motivate people to discourage open defecation and promote the use of latrines as the most appropriate way of excreta or waste disposal. He finally urged everyone to adopt the CLTS approach in raising people's awareness to promote behavioural change. Dembo Fatty, the acting coordinator of Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH), enjoined all to partake in the fight against open defecation through the promotion of latrine construction. He said the practice of safe disposal of excreta by the use of latrines and hand washing with soap tops the international hygiene agenda, noting that hand washing with soap especially before preparing food and after visiting toilet, is among the most effective and inexpensive ways of preventing diarrhea diseases.