‘167m Nigerians lack access to hand washing facilities’

The 2019 Water Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM) has revealed that a total of 167 million people in Nigeria lack access to handwashing facilities with soap close to their homes, which increases disease infection especially COVID-19 in the country.

According to the report, only one percent of the population of Bauchi State has access to handwashing facilities with soap and water close to their homes.

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Bauchi State Commissioner of Water Resources, Jidauna Tula Mbami disclosed this Tuesday during the commissioning of hand-washing facilities at the Special Education School donated by Heineken African Foundation (HAF) in collaboration with WaterAid Nigeria in an effort to fight the spread of the COVID-19 infection among students with special needs.

Mbami said that the emergency situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic while exacerbating the impact of the WASH crisis, also provides an opportunity to mitigate existing risk and build effective and sustainable WASH system.

“WaterAid Nigeria with support from the Heineken Africa Foundation has provided a large package of WASH facilities and kits to be distributed to LGAs, schools, health centres and public places for better health outcomes specifically,” he said