As Nigeria joins the global community to mark the World Toilet Day, the minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Lawal Abbas, has said that about 48 million Nigerians still practice open defecation, as many people still use the bush and water bodies as their regular means for excreta disposal.
This was even as the minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said that over 100 million people in the country lack access to basic sanitation.
This, the minister said has put the country among the countries with the highest number of people involved in open defecation practice.
World Toilet Day is celebrated every November 19 to raise awareness about the need for everyone to have access to sanitation.
Abbas, who spoke at a press briefing in commemoration of the 2023 World Toilet Day, with the theme: ‘Accelerating Change’ on Thursday in Abuja, noted that toilets are a foundation stone of public health and they play an important role in protecting the environment.
He, however, regretted that toilets and the sanitation systems that support them are underfunded, poorly managed or neglected with devastating consequences for health, economics and the environment particularly in the poorest and most marginalized communities.
He decried the dearth of toilets in many institutions across the country, sayings “Many institutions, public and private, do not have sanitary facilities and where they exist they are either not functioning or misused.
“Most urban areas do not have sewerage systems and safe collection of sewage. Therefore, disposal becomes a huge challenge as many of the water bodies including rivers and streams become a repository for sewage and wastewater.”
The minister linked the persistent re-occurrence of annual incidences of cholera outbreaks in some states across the country on poor sanitation and hygiene.
He said “One of the major consequences of poor excreta and sewage disposal is the high rate of diarrhoea disease which is the second cause of high morbidity and mortality rates among children under the age of five.
“The persistent re-occurrence of annual incidences of cholera outbreaks in some of our states are also manifestations of inadequate toilet facilities. Yet this could also be prevented through safe excreta disposal by every individual.”
He, however, expressed the federal government’s commitment to addressing the sanitation challenges in the country and ensuring proper management of excreta.
