Nigeria, UN sanitation partnership to change donor-recipient dynamic, deliver results

A new sanitation partnership between Nigeria’s Ministry of Water Resources and the United Nations’ Global Sanitation Fund is set to change existing donor-recipient dynamic and set a framework towards achieving national targets for an Open Defecation Free (ODF) Nigeria by 2025.

The partnership, described as ‘ground breaking’ goes far beyond the traditional donor-recipient relationship of most development programmes.

It is the first donor initiative in Nigeria developed and led by the Government’s National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS), which is the instrument for sector coordination.

The innovation sees international funding matched by national, regional and local funding to significantly improve the sanitation and hygiene situation in two states in Nigeria: Benue State and Cross River State, and thereby setting a framework for replication in other States in order to achieve the national target of an Open Defecation Free (ODF) Nigeria by 2025.

Minister for Water Resources of Nigeria, Sarah Reng Ochekpe, and Chris Williams, the Executive Director of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC operates the Global Sanitation Fund) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 16 June to cement their partnership.

“I praise Honourable Minister Sara Reng Ochekpe for championing the provision of government financing and resources specifically to promote sanitation and hygiene in this way. She has made the strive to end open defecation a national movement, led by the government and supported by a number of national and international partners, rather than a donor driven development initiative” said Chris Williams. “This is a ground-breaking move that should serve as a model to governments everywhere” he added.