The Federal Government has revealed that the country would need to build one million public toilets in the six geo-political zones to end open defecation.
The Minister of State for Environment, Ishaq Salako, who made this known on Thursday, also said about N48 million Nigerians still engage in open defecation, despite just a year left to the deadline to end the practice.
Speaking at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committees on Environment, Water Resources, Works, Ecological Funds and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, he stated that over 159 million Nigerians lack access to washing hands facilities.
According to him, to remedy the situation, the FG will need to build one million public toilets across the country’s six geo-political zones as there are a little over 5,000 public toilets yet.
The minister said his ministry had developed the National Environmental Sanitation Policy and its guidelines on sewage and excreta management to guide on proper disposal of human faeces and to curb open defecation.
Salako added, “According to the roadmap, 43, 000 toilets are required across the country. But currently, the reality is that 48 million people are practising open defecation nationwide, thereby requiring a minimum of one million toilets across the country. As of today, 5,004 toilets have been constructed across the country in public places.
“When the President signed the order, it came with an approval of N63.6bn to be spread over the six years when the programme to end open defecation would last but to date, what has been received is not up to an annual allocation.”
As part of efforts to address the problem, the minister called for the mobilisation of sanitary health inspectors, advising that the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency be mobilised to carry out its role as provided in the law.
“I want to assure you that NESREA is the police of the environment and without the police, you cannot enforce. Without enforcing them, the laws are toothless. We need more empowerment for the police of the environment which is NESREA.
“I believe strongly that if we can do that, we can enforce to ensure that the state, local governments and average Nigerians fully comply with the laws and policies of the Federal Government guiding defecation,” he said.
The Chief Sanitary Inspector, Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, Yakubu Baba, called for the establishment of a National Environmental Sanitation Development Agency that would coordinate sanitation at the national level, and also as part of measures to address the menace of open defecation.
“As we speak today, there is no agency that coordinates sanitation in the country and this is why I am calling on the legislature to look at the possibility of creating a National Environmental Sanitation Development Agency that would coordinate sanitation at the national level,” he advised.
Speaking on the menace posed by open defecation, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas, Tajudeen, said the growing incident of open defecation in Nigeria exposes millions of Nigerians to risks.
Represented by the Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda, Abbas said every Nigerian must have access to basic amenities that guarantee good health and well-being.
The Chairman, House Committee on Environment, Pondi Gbabojor, called on governments at all levels to take urgent actions to address the scourge of open defecation.
He said, “We urge the government at all levels and private individuals to embark on aggressive rural water projects that will ensure that each community is provided with portable water and functioning toilet facilities
“We also urge the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and other relevant agencies to give proper sensitization on open defecation across the communities.
“We urge the executive arm to galvanize state governments to key into the National Action Plan for the Revitalization of Nigeria’s Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector.”
He also appealed to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to collaborate with State Ministries responsible for water resources and the sanitation agency of the federation to meet the criteria to assess the readily available World Bank’s $700m Sustainable Urban and Rural Water and Sanitation Hygiene.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that Nigeria is still off-track in terms of attaining the global Sustainable Development Goal sanitation target and is regrettably among those behind.
The World Health Organisation ranked Nigeria as the 5th among countries practicing open defecation,while India topped the chart with 626 million people
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, 48 million Nigerians, representing 23 per cent of the country’s population, still indulge in open defecation.
UNICEF noted that out of this number, the North-West geopolitical zone has 11 per cent; North-East, 17 per cent; North-Central, 47 per cent; South-West, 24 per cent; South-South, 23 per cent; and South-East, 23 per cent.
A UNICEF report published on November 19, 2021, revealed that there has been limited progress in the fight against open defecation in Nigeria.
Alarmingly, the FG, the country loses about $3 billion annually due to poor sanitation arising from the use of unsanitary or shared toilets and open defecation.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, while speaking in Abuja at the National Workshop on Safely Managed Sanitation, said with only six years to the SDG target date of 2030, progress on achieving the global SDG sanitation target of safely managed services is off-track and regrettably among those furthest behind.
He stated,” He added, “In Nigeria, only about half of the population (46 per cent) has access to basic sanitation services and about a quarter are practising open defecation, with only 18 per cent of the population having access to safely managed services.
“Achieving the SDG target 6.2 will, therefore, require us to make five times the current progress and triple our investment in the sector.”
He, however, said the government is working hard to tackle the identified concerns, adding, “The Federal Government is committed to the actualisation of the SDG 6 target for Sanitation and our commitment is motivated by the realisation that it would contribute significantly to the achievement of our national developmental goals and the key priority areas of this government.”
Credit – Punch Online
