World Toilet Day: Sanitary facilities still a mirage for many Nigerians

As Nigeria joins the world to mark the 2017 World Toilet Day (WTD), the Minister of State for Environment Ibrahim Usman Jibril, has said access to sanitary facilities has remained a mirage to a vast majority of Nigerians.

Jibril, speaking at an event to mark the day in Abuja, said, “Many people still use the bush as their regular means for excreta disposal. Many institutions do not have sanitary facilities and where it exists, it is either not functioning or misused.” 

WTD is celebrated globally every 19th of November to promote sound environmental sanitation practices among the populace and this year’s theme, ‘Wastewater’ is to draw attention to the importance of environmental sanitation on the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) six, ‘Clean water and sanitation for all’.

The minister, represented by the Registrar of Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), Dr Dominic Abonyi, noted that according to a National Demographic and Health survey, access to improved sanitation is still very poor – below 36 per cent – for majority of the populace.

 “The undesirable consequence of the catalogue of poor excreta disposal leads to persistently high rate of diarrhoea disease which is the second cause of high morbidity and mortality amongst children aged five and below,” he said.

He therefore said the theme was critically timed and affords the unique opportunity to remove sanitation stigma and heighten advocacy for the multiple benefits that flow from better hygiene, household sanitation, indiscriminate wastewater disposal and waste management.

In his remark, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Shehu Ahmed, represented by deputy director of Pollution at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Theodor Nwaokwe, said the theme ‘Wastewater’ is to institutionalize sound environmental sanitation practices through awareness creation on the importance of ensuring accessibility to toilets and proper management of wastewater, especially from toilet facilities. 

He said sanitation, like health and education, is a fundamental building block in the fight against poverty and preventable diseases. 

While noting that there is need for collaborative effort to reinforce strategies towards achieving a higher level of sanitation coverage in the country, Dr Ahmed said the occasion is important to put Nigerians on the right tract of daily sanitation practices in their homes and immediate environment.