Nigeria Loses $3b Annually To Open Defecation

Nigeria losses three billion dollars annually due to open defecation and unsafe environmental practices.

Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev who made this known at the National Safely Managed Sanitation Workshop in Abuja stressed that the country cannot afford to continue losing billions of dollars annually to open defecation.

According to him, Nigeria has pledged to triple its efforts towards achieving sustainable and safely managed sanitation, with a target of becoming open defecation free by 2025.

The Minister therefore emphasized the crucial role of sustainable and safely managed sanitation in national well-being, wealth, and economic growth.

While expressing concern over Nigeria’s efforts in achieving the 2030 WASH agenda, Professor Utsev called for collective strategies to ensure that the country attains a safely managed sanitation service by 2025.

Asserting that safely managed sanitation is a right for all Nigerians, Professor Utsev stressed that the country cannot afford to continue losing billions of dollars annually to open defecation.

He reiterated the federal government’s commitment to intensify existing efforts for a comprehensive and effective sanitation system.

‘’With only six years to SDGs target states by 2030, progress on achieving the global SDGs sanitation targets of safely managed sanitation services is offtrack. Achieving the SDGs 6.2 target will therefore require us to make five times the current progress and triple our investment in the sanitation sector. The federal government of Nigeria is committed to the actualization of the SDGs 6 target for sanitation” Professor Utsev stressed.

Earlier in her opening remarks, the Director water quality control and Sanitation in the Ministry, Mrs. Elizabeth Ugoh who explained that although access to safely managed sanitation is a fundamental human right, millions of people across the globe, including Nigeria with a national access of 18%, continue to lack adequate facilities, with dire consequences for public health, the environment and overall well-being.

Mrs Ugoh therefore stressed that the workshop serves as a crucial platform to collectively explore innovative strategies, share best practices in order to deepen collaboration so as to advance the cause of safe and sustainable sanitation for the populace.

On his part, representatives of the World Health Organization, WHO, Melvin Isotou who emphasized that safety managed sanitation is critical in the promotion of good health and human dignity added that it is important as partners and stakeholders to discuss on how to strengthen the gaps in the sanitation system

Also the UNICEF WASH representative, Jane Biva who expressed satisfaction that Nigeria is taking the sanitation value chain very seriously added that it would go a long way in improving the lives of women and children.

In his presentation the WATERAID representative, Kolawole Bamwo stated that Nigeria must focus on the entire sanitation chain to be able to be open defecation free by 2025.

The workshop’s expected outcomes is to identify gaps in the nation’s safely managed sanitation system, outline key priorities, and develop a comprehensive strategy to address and solve these challenges.

By Georgina Humphrey, Edited By Grace Namiji