Nigerians Spend N3.4trn On Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Services Annually – Report

A new report launched by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources has revealed that households in Nigeria spent approximate N3.4trillion or $8.5bilion annually on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in 2019 and 2020.

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM 111) Report, 2021 also revealed that only 6per cent health care facilities in Nigeria have WASH services.

It finds that at 10 per cent, healthcare facilities in urban areas were twice as likely to have access to basic WASH services than healthcare facilities in rural areas.

The survey, which was done in collaboration with the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) showed that only 11 per cent of schools have basic WASH services, and that at 18 per cent, school in urban areas were about twice as likely to have access to WASH service than schools in rural areas.

Speaking during the launch of the report in Abuja, the minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, said only 28 out of the 36 states of the federation have urban water utilities or State Water Agency (SWA).

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He said, “At the point of survey, only 16 States had fully functioning urban utilities or SWA, 12 were partially functional.”

Adamu frowned that despite the federal government’s efforts to ensure sustainable WASH services at all levels, many state governments were yet to complement the efforts.

He said, “The high rate of non-functionality of most urban utilities is a call for concern and must be addressed squarely if the nation must target safely managed safely managed access to WASH services by 2030.

“The bleak status of integrated WASH services within households, institutions and in communities unmasked the need for a comprehensive approach to WASH which must include expanding safe and reliable water systems, providing direct investments or promoting household investments in sanitation and carrying out community level health and Hygiene awareness campaigns.”