Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has called on Nigerians to prioritise sanitation, hygiene and avoid open defecation to combat emerging and re-emerging diseases in the country.
The minister made the call during the commemoration of the 2025 National Environmental Sanitation Day recently held in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
A press statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Ibrahim Haruna, reveals that the minister emphasised that poor sanitation has severe consequences, including increased disease burden, economic losses, water and soil contamination, and long-term environmental degradation, ultimately undermining 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 disclosed that a large number of children die yearly due to sanitation and hygiene-related diseases, and more than 3.5 million children suffer from diarrhoea-related diseases in Nigeria.
The Minister decried the use of unhealthy sanitary facilities, noting that improper sewage systems can contaminate water sources, soil, and air, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
Balarabe 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, launched the National Policy for Antimicrobial Resistance for the Environment Sector, ensured the construction of public toilets across the nation to curb open defecation menace and ongoing awareness creation and sensitization 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, concluding, ‘Clean environments are the product of sustained effort, vigilance, and community spirit.’”
