As much as 46 million Nigerians practice open defecation, findings from the 2019 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) survey show.
The survey, which was made available on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), revealed that only 9 percent had access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.
The findings showed that fewer people had access to WASH services in 2019 than in 2018. While 11 percent had access in 2018, only 9 percent had access in 2019.
Some of the key findings from the survey include that 70 percent use basic drinking water services, 44 percent use basic sanitation services, 16 percent households have access to basic hygiene services, 14 percent of schools have basic water and sanitation services, 7 percent health facilities have basic water and sanitation services, 14 percent markets and motor parks have basic water and sanitation services and 11 percent of households had at least one diarrhea case in the past six weeks.
“People living in Lagos are three times more likely to use basic water supply services than those in living in Taraba,” the survey said.
The annual WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH-NORM) is a national assessment of the status of WASH services launched in 2018, which seeks to cover the data gaps in the sector.
The 2020 survey is the second round of the (WASH-NORM) survey under the overall leadership of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, with technical and financial support from UNICEF, the World Bank and Africa Development Bank.
The survey was carried out in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
