By Alexis Uchendu<\/p>\n
The United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that over 95 million Nigerians lack access to basic sanitation services, with 48 million still practicing open defecation.<\/p>\n
This disclosure was made by Dr. Olusoji Akinleye, Officer-in-Charge of UNICEF\u2019s Field Office in Enugu, during a media dialogue held to mark the 2024 World Toilet Day.<\/p>\n
The event, themed “Toilets: A Place for Peace,” emphasized the critical role of sanitation in public health and well-being.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Enugu on Monday, Akinleye described Nigeria’s sanitation situation as alarming, noting that 18 million children are among those affected.<\/p>\n
Akinleye presented disturbing statistics that underscore the magnitude of the sanitation crisis: 70% of schools (approximately 91,000) lack basic sanitation facilities. 88% of healthcare facilities (about 27,600) are without essential sanitation infrastructure. And 80% of markets and motor parks operate without proper sanitation.<\/p>\n
Akinleye attributed these challenges to insufficient funding, revealing that only 134 out of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas have achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.<\/p>\n
Between 2018 and 2022, just N15 billion was allocated to ODF initiatives, far below the estimated N168.75 billion needed annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal commitment to sanitation reforms has significantly declined since 2023, slowing the progress in achieving ODF goals,\u201d Akinleye noted.<\/p>\n
UNICEF\u2019s WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Specialist in Enugu, Rebecca Gabriel, expressed hope that Nigeria could meet its ODF targets by 2030, but only with increased investment.<\/p>\n
She urged the government and private sector to prioritize the construction of toilets in schools, health centers, and public spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo achieve zero open defecation across all states, every sector must play a role, including the government, civil society, and individuals,\u201d Gabriel said.<\/p>\n
World Toilet Day Focus
\nWorld Toilet Day, observed every November 19 since 2013, brings global attention to sanitation challenges.<\/p>\n
In Nigeria, it has highlighted the urgent need for better policies, increased funding, and improved infrastructure to combat open defecation and ensure access to dignified sanitation for all citizens.<\/p>\n
As the sanitation crisis persists, UNICEF is calling for collaborative efforts to restore public trust in Nigeria\u2019s ability to provide basic amenities and meet international development goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Alexis Uchendu The United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that over 95 million Nigerians lack access to basic sanitation services, with 48 million still practicing open defecation. This disclosure was made by Dr. Olusoji Akinleye, Officer-in-Charge of UNICEF\u2019s Field Office in Enugu, during a media dialogue held to mark the 2024 World Toilet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":56548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56547"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56549,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56547\/revisions\/56549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}