884m people have no access to clean water

Foundation for Partnership in the Niger Delta (PIND) has raised alarm that 884 million people are denied access to clean water.

In a statement to mark 2019 World Water Day, PIND’s Knowledge and Communications Manager, Mrs. Chinwe Nnoham-Onyejekwe, said 67 per cent Nigerians do not have access to basic sanitation.

The 2019 World Water Day’s theme, as set by UN-Water, is: “Leaving no one behind.”

PIND Executive Director, Dr. Dara Akala, decried the severity of water, sanitation and hygiene needs in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, revealing that it cuts across communities and institutions in urban, peri-urban and rural settings.

The Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria, Dr ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, identified women, children, refugees, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and the elderly as marginalised group, often overlooked, and who sometimes face discrimination in their quest to access and manage the clean water they need to live daily.

Similarly, The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleman Adamu, yesterday, disclosed that about 52.7m Nigerians have no access to water supply.

The Minister disclosed this during the third Founders’ Day of Edo University, Iyamho, Edo state. Delivering a lecture titled, “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene,” Adamu said majority of those with no access to clean water are in rural areas.

Represented by Managing Director, Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority, Engr. Ahmed Saliu, Adamu said: “In 2015, the National Water Supply Coverage (NWSC) was 69 percent, comprising urban dwellers, 80 percent; semi urban 68 percent and rural areas 60 percent.

“Inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure, population increase and rapid urbanization have created a serious deficiency in the quality of life with dire consequences on sanitation, food, security, health, employment and standard of living.”