Despite Nigeria’s target to end open defecation by 2030, WaterAid Nigeria says the number of people living without access to basic Water Sanitation and Hygiene Services (WASH) is on the rise.
While describing WASH as a core in making Nigeria Open defecation free, WaterAid noted that sanitation crisis has deepened over the years especially as the country is witnessing rapid population growth and rapidly growing urban centres.
Chichi Anuagolu-Okoye, country director, WateAid speaking at a dissemination workshop on Wednesday described the sanitation situation in Nigeria as dire, critical and urgent.
“Poor sanitation is one of the glaring indicators of urban poverty, epidemics and poor health. About 116 million Nigerians still lack decent toilets while some over 40 million other practices open defecation,” she said.
Anuagolu-Okoye stated that 50 percent of health facilities lack clean water and 50 percent of basic schools in Nigeria do not have access to basic Water and sanitation service.
“Nigeria is also experiencing rapid urbanisation which is putting further strain on an already inadequate WASH infrastructure. Poor access has significant implications in education, health and developmental outcomes”, she said.
Anuagolu-Okoye however expressed hope that open defecation can be tackled with the right political will at all levels, continuous funding, systematic programming, partnerships and collaboration between sector stakeholders.
The country director said that sanitation value chain also has huge potentials for job and wealth creation with the right policy framework to enable participation of private sector and civil societies.
Suleiman Adamu, minister of water resources also speaking at the workshop said Nigeria has not performed well on the 6th sustainable development goal to end open defecation by 2030.
Adamu who was represented by Emmanuel Awe, director, water and sanitation noted that the available statistics on access to WASH services by Nigerians indicates that the country still have a long way to go on the target.
Adamu also expressed concern that the sanitation crisis is worsening saying the country is currently experiencing a rapid population growth from 2.8 to 3 percent annual growth rate.
He therefore stressed the need for government and all relevant stakeholders in the WASH sector to intensify efforts and collaborate more to curb the problem. According to him, “there is still much to be done.”
WateAid, in collaboration with Mangrove and partners presented a report on context analysis of urban sanitation in Enugu, Kano and Warri during the workshop which had the theme “Exploring frameworks and partnerships for Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) in Nigeria.
According to the report, over 503,206 litres of faecal sludge is produced in Kano with only 17 percent safely disposed, while in Enugu, over 127,550 litres of faecal sludge is produced in Enugu and only about 25 percent safely disposed.
The report also found that Warri produces over 96,127 litres of faecal waste is produced with only 25 percent safely disposed.
The report is aimed at developing a sanitation value chain strategy that promotes investment in wastewater and faecal sludge management including recycling treated faecal sludge and wastewater into economically-viable by-products.
GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU, Abuja
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