World Toilet Day: Tackling Open Defecation In Nigeria

Despite efforts by relevant stakeholders to achieve open defecation free Nigeria, a lot of people still defecate opening in the country.

The minister of Environment, Malam Barabe Lawal Abbas, said 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.

Abbas stated this at a press briefing in commemoration of the 2023 World Toilet Day, with the theme: ‘Accelerating Change’ in Abuja.

World Toilet Day is celebrated every November 19 to raise awareness about the need for everyone to have access to sanitation.

The minister noted that toilets are a foundation stone of public health and they play an important role in protecting the environment.

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He, however, regretted that most urban areas do not have sewerage systems and safe collection of sewage, disposal becomes a huge challenge as many of the water bodies including rivers and streams become a repository for sewage and wastewater.

He noted that toilets and  sanitation systems are underfunded, poorly managed or neglected  with devastating consequences for health, economics and the environment particularly in the poorest and most marginalized communities.

The minister also 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.

He linked the persistent re-occurrence of annual incidences of cholera outbreaks in some states across the country on poor sanitation and hygiene.

“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.,” Abbas said.

He, however, expressed the federal government’s commitment to addressing the sanitation challenges in the country and ensuring proper management of excreta.

Also, the minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, stated that  over 100 million people in the country lack access to basic sanitation.

This, he said has put the country among the countries with the highest number of people involved in open defecation practice.

Acknowledging that some progress has been recorded, the minister said a lot more needs to be done to accelerate change towards meeting the expectations of the theme of the 2023 World Toilet Day.

He also noted that appreciable progress is being made towards the attainment of the Open Defecation Free status in communities and Local Government Areas across the country. “In this regard, it is noteworthy that 105 LGAs and over 40 thousand communities have achieved the ODF status. Despite this encouraging development, we need to do much more in order to attain the 2025 target date of ending open defecation in Nigeria.”