Commemorating the 2021 World Toilet Day on Friday, UNICEF discusses open defecation in Nigeria.
The theme for the 2021 World Toilet Day is “Valuing Toilets”.
With a focus on the largest black country in the world, a list of high rank and low-rank states with open defecation was reported.
Read the latest health news in Nigeria here
See the list of states with high defecation in Nigeria:
Also, see the list of states with low defecation in Nigeria:
- Akwa Ibom.
The report by UNICEF revealed limited progress in the fight against open defecation in Nigeria. This report was updated after two years.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, World Toilet Day is marked yearly on November 19. The event is to raise awareness of the 3.6 billion persons exposed to no toilet or poorly managed toilet.
The goal is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). This seeks sanitation for all by 2030. Also, this is a deliberate effort to eradicate the global sanitation crisis.
It is to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which seeks sanitation for all by 2030.
UNICEF claims in a soon-to-be-released update that open defecation in Nigeria is 23 per cent. The agency says that this has remained a steady position for the nation.
“As many as 46 million Nigerians still defecate in the open.
“The states with the highest rates of open defecation include Kwara, Plateau, and Ebonyi.
“Those with the lowest rates are Abia, Zamfara, and Akwa Ibom,” a statement by UNICEF said on Friday.
The progress report by UNICEF showed that only 71 out of 774 LGAs in the country are ‘open defecation free. Although, this is progress since 2019 where open defecation was free in only 18 LGAs.
See the list of states with the highest number of ‘open defecation free LGAs:
- Katsina – 21.
- Jigawa – 18.
- Benue – 9.
Meanwhile, UNICEF has acknowledged the massive progress in Nigeria is access to water. Water sanitation and hygiene now service 75 per cent of Nigerians. This progress is 5 per cent up from 70 per cent in 2019.
Also, access to toilets and handwashing facilities have increased by 2 per cent. It moved up from 44 to 46 per cent.
UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, said more work needs to be done.
His words: “It is clear that more needs to be done to ensure that all Nigerians have access to safe toilets and that we shift closer to ending open defecation across the country.
“With the Clean Nigeria campaign, we are making strong efforts but the whole country needs to put their full weight behind this campaign.
“We cannot afford to fail; ending open defecation is crucial to making progress in so many other areas, including health.
“There is a clear commitment by the Nigerian government to helping the population to move away from the practice of open defecation – a move that will help support better health outcomes for all, including children.
“The importance of adequate and safe sanitation and proper hand hygiene practices cannot be overstated.
“It helps prevent illnesses that impact families’ livelihoods, and more importantly, take the lives of far too many children. We can and must achieve an open defecation-free Nigeria by 2025,” Hawkins said.
According to a report obtained from NAN, President Buhari has once reacted to open defecation.
Also, read the latest health news in Nigeria on COVID-19
In November 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari declared a state of emergency in these sectors:
The three sectors were called the WASH sector. President Buhari also launched a national campaign themed ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’.
The campaign was to prepare the country for the national eradication of sanitary in 2025.
Source: PUNCH HealthWise