The Federal government has called for more collective efforts among Nigerians to end open defecation as the number of Nigerians engage in the practice still remains at 48 million.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev and his counterpart in the Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abbas made the call at a joint press briefing on thursday in Abuja to commemorate the 2023 world toilet day.
They noted with regret that in Nigeria about 100 million persons lack access to basic sanitation,” while an estimated 48 million practice open defecation which put the country among the countries with the highest number of people involved in this practice.”
According to water and sanitation Minister the practice of open defecation which is mostly due to the lack of sanitation facilities has a direct correlation with sanitation-related diseases, and also leading to poor educational outcomes and loss of productivity in the country.
To tackle this water and sanitation crisis, Prof. Utsev said the government has initiated several interventions through the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes and projects targeted at accelerating progress towards national targets within the context of our global commitment in this Sector.
The Minister listed some of the initiatives to include, the launch of the national action plan for the revitalization of the Sector and the Presidential declaration of a state of emergency in the sector.
He said: “There is also the Partnership for Expanded Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) programme, the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ Campaign and the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme were also initiated.”
Prof. Utsev who pointed out that access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services is a critical factor for the socio-economic development of the country, besides the many other negative consequences such as the concomitant lack of dignity, inconvenience and violence experienced by women and girls, when practicing open defecation.
While the environment Minister on his part also disclosed that, “The sanitation crisis poses a threat to our natural environment and the health of citizens, particularly women, girls and other vulnerable groups.”
Mallam Abbas explained further that, “One of the major consequences of poor excreta and sewage disposal is the high rate of diarrhea disease which is the second cause of high morbidity and mortality rates among children under the age of five.
“The persistent re-occurrence of annual incidences of cholera outbreaks in some of our states are also manifestations of inadequate toilet facilities. Yet this could also be prevented through safe excreta disposal by every individual.”
According to environment Minister, in order to strengthen the capacity of the environmental health officers in the country , the Ministry has renewed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India on technology transfer, technical assistance, capacity building and research development in areas of water, sanitation and environmental management.
