The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal has called on Nigerians to prioritise sanitation and hygiene, and to also avoid open defecation as part of the measures to combat emerging and re-emerging diseases in the country.
Lawal made the call during the commemoration of the 2025 National Environmental Sanitation Day held recently in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
The Minister, in a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Ibrahim Haruna, emphasised that poor sanitation has severe consequences.
Lawal said such consequences include increased disease burden, economic losses, water and soil contamination, and long-term environmental degradation, noted to undermine public health and sustainable development.
Lawal who was represented by the Director II, Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mrs. Omotunde Adeola, emphasised that the emergence of diseases like COVID-19, cholera, monkeypox, yellow fever, and dengue fever highlights the critical role of sanitation and hygiene in the prevention and control of disease outbreaks.
“We continue to face the challenges of preventable diseases such as cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, and malaria—ailments that thrive in conditions of poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that a large number of children are lost annually due to sanitation and hygiene-related diseases, adding that more than 3.5 million children suffer from diarrhoea-related diseases in Nigeria.
Lawal further decried the use of unhealthy sanitary facilities, noting that improper sewage systems can contaminate water sources, soil, and air as well as increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
He also stated that to promote healthy hygiene practices in the country, the Ministry has, in collaboration with key stakeholders reviewed and updated the 2005 National Environmental Sanitation Policy and its implementation Guidelines, obtained FEC approval for National Solid Waste Management Policy and launched the National Policy for Antimicrobial Resistance for the Environment Sector.
He also revealed that the ministry ensured the construction of public toilets across the nation to curb the open defecation menace as well as ongoing awareness creation and sensitisation on the dangers of open defecation, among others
The Minister commended the Nasarawa State Government, Inter-Ministerial Committee on National Environmental Sanitation Day, and key stakeholders for their commitment to safe sanitation and hygiene.
He emphasised that clean environments are the product of sustained effort, vigilance, and community spirit.
