By Ijeoma Ukazu –
Out of 47 Million Nigerians who practice Open Defecation, ODF, 16 Million live in the North Central region of the country.
Revealing this to journalists at a media dialogue, Clean Nigeria: Use The Toilet Campaign organised by European Union, UKaid in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, at Ibadan, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH Specialist, UNICEF, Bioye Ogunjobi said the narrative should change.
Quoting the data from 2018 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping, World Health Organisation, UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation survey, Ogunjobi revealed that 10.3 percent of people living in North West practice open defecation; 17.9 percent in South South; 21.8 percent in North East; 53.9 percent in North Central; 22.4 percent in South East and 28.0 percent in South West.
While one out of four Nigerians practice open defecation, Ogunjobi said in the North Central, it is one out of two persons, adding that only 13 out of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria are certified Open Defecation Free.
The survey further states that more than 100,000 children under five years of age die each year due to diarrhoea, of which 90 percent is directly attributed to unsafe water and sanitation.
It also states that, “if Nigeria can add two million toilets per year between 2019 and 2025, the target of Universal Basic Sanitaion would be achieved, thereby saving the country N455 billion, representing 1.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product, GDP, that is lost to poor sanitation.”
Ogunjobi said 47 million Nigerians, representing 24.4 percent of the population of Nigeria still do open defecation and 32 million people in Nigeria are still using unimproved toilet. “Almost 80 million people need support of an improved latrine, toilet,” he added.
He however urged the government to increase sanitation budgetary allocation and the private sector to compliment government’s efforts in curbing open defecation while lamenting that Nigeria ranks second among countries practicing open defecation globally after India.
Also speaking, the Head, Child Rights Information Bureau, Abuja, Mr Olumide Osanyipeju, urged the private sector and other stakeholders to come on board so as to improve sanitation and hygiene situation in Nigeria.
According to him, “it is a fact that UNICEF has been in the forefront of ensuring that Nigeria has access to safe drinking water supply, adequate sanitation and proper hygiene in our environment and communities.
He said recently, Nigerian government declared a state of emergency on WASH and launched an Open fyree Defecation Campaign strategy to jump start the countries journey towards ending open defecation.
He however, added that the Partnership for Expanded Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) programme was formulated and launched in 2016 in direct response to challenges affecting the rural WASH sector, with the aim of achieving 100 percent WASH coverage in rural areas.
He said, “Nigeria is currently leading ODF campaign to end the practice in the country by 2025 and achieve universal access to safety manage sanitation by 2023. Clean Nigeria, Use the Toilets Campaign is one of the most ambitious behavior change and campaign in Nigeria with a strong citizen, public engagement component.”
This campaign, according to Osanyipeju, will create a national movement with elements of policy advocacy, public advocacy and grassroots mobilisation, adding that private sector engagement sanitation is essential to the survival and development of children as it can reduce the severity and impact of malnutrition.
He said, it can also help to reduce spread of worms as well as promoting dignity and boosting safety, particularly women and children, adding that open defecation perpetuates a vicious cycle of diseases and poverty.
He however called on stakeholders to join hands with the Federal government to achieve its goal to achieve the Universal Basic Sanitation and end open defecation by 2030, stressing that, Nigeria must double its current efforts in order to end open defecation by 2030.
Earlier in his remark, UNICEF’s Communication Specialist, Dr. Geoffrey Njoku urged the media to create massive awareness for the government to put in more resources to push for a free open defecation Nigeria.
Njoku added that their is need for behavioral change of people as it is key to achieving a clean Nigeria.
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