The Burden Of Poor Sanitation And Nigeria’s Push For Change

Across Nigeria, the signs of poor sanitation are everywhere, even if they are often overlooked. From open defecation along major highways to clogged drainage channels in crowded urban centres, the warnings are in plain sight.

The consequences are equally stark. Communities battle cholera outbreaks after every heavy rainfall, while schoolchildren are forced to rely on broken, overcrowded latrines that are barely usable. The evidence of a sanitation crisis is impossible to ignore.

However, for decades, sanitation has existed in the background of national conversations, overshadowed by more dramatic challenges such as insecurity, inflation, and unemployment. Yet experts insist that sanitation is one of the strongest indicators of a nation’s development, and one of the biggest determinants of public health.

Health specialists said that one toilet can prevent more disease than a hundred hospital beds. Economists estimate that Nigeria loses billions of naira every year in productivity due to sanitation-related illnesses.

And for millions of women and girls, the absence of clean, safe toilets translates into daily indignities, unsafe nighttime routines, and thousands of missed school days.

According to sanitation stakeholders, sanitation is not just infrastructure, it is dignity, wellbeing and economic progress. Improved sanitation reduces disease, improves learning outcomes, supports tourism, and creates thousands of jobs in construction, waste management and innovation.

But despite its importance, Nigeria continues to struggle. Rural communities still lack basic toilets. Urban centres battle with poor waste disposal and failing sewage systems. Investments remain insufficient, and coordination across sectors is often weak.

However, the conversation is shifting, with the Federal Government attempting to reposition sanitation as a national priority. One of the signals of this shift is the maiden National Sanitation Conference, which opened in Abuja on November 17, 2025.

Convened by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, the conference gathered government officials, civil society groups, researchers, private sector innovators and development partners to rethink Nigeria’s sanitation pathway.

The theme, “Accelerating Sanitation for All,” reflects the urgency. Nigeria is only five years away from the global deadline for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6, which seeks safe water and sanitation for all by 2030.

During the event, stakeholders reviewed progress under the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign, one of the country’s flagship initiatives to eliminate open defecation. While some states have achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, many others lag behind, underscoring the need for stronger coordination and more investment across the 36 states.

The conference also featured an exhibition showcasing new sanitation technologies, community-led hygiene solutions, and innovative financing models designed to make safe sanitation more accessible and sustainable.

In his welcome address, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the conference marks an important milestone in Nigeria’s sanitation journey. He emphasised that achieving nationwide sanitation coverage demands a sustained, multi-sector approach involving all stakeholders.

He acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing the policy direction needed to drive progress in the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) sector, and praised Vice President Kashim Shettima for his leadership of the national steering committee on the Clean Nigeria Campaign.
For many Nigerians, the hope is simple: functioning toilets in homes, schools, markets and public places; clean waterways; safer communities; and an end to avoidable diseases linked to poor hygiene.

As the two-day conference concluded, stakeholders said the real work begins, not in panel discussions, but in communities where improved sanitation can save lives, boost dignity, and redefine national development.

Nigeria’s sanitation crisis may be silent, but with sustained commitment, it does not have to be permanent.