The Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Dr. Ibrahim Conteh, has said that Kwara, Plateau and Ebonyi states have the highest rates of open defecation in Nigeria.
Conteh stated this in Enugu during a ‘One Day Media Dialogue’ organized by UNICEF in commemoration of 2021 Toilet Day in collaboration with Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State with the theme: “Valuing Toilets.”
Conteh emphasized that the rate of open defecation in Nigeria had remained high despite efforts made to reduce it to the barest minimum.
According to him as many as 46 million Nigerians still defecate in the open while the states with the lowest rates are Abia, Zamfara and Akwa Ibom.
Conteh pointed out that “According to new figures soon to be released on Nigerians’ access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services, the rate of open defecation has remained steady at 23 per cent.
He however, said that there had been some progress on ending open defecation with 71 out of the 774 local government areas in the country now declared ‘open-defecation-free’ -up from 18 in 2019.
Conteh further noted, “Nigeria is making some progress in improving access to WASH services to its population with 75 per cent of Nigerians having access to basic drinking water services up from 70 per cent in 2019.
“Access to sanitation (toilet and hand washing facilities) has also increased modestly from 44 per cent to 46 per cent over the same period,” he said.
He made it clear that more needs to be done to ensure that all Nigerians have access to safe toilets in order to shift closer to the goal of ending open defecation by 2025.
He urged Nigerians to put their full weight in this campaign stressing that ending open defecation is crucial to making progress in so many other areas, including health”.
In November 2018, Nigerian president, Muhammad Buhari declared a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector and launched a national campaign tagged ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ to jump start the country’s journey towards becoming open defecation free’ by 2025,
The Special Adviser on Water Resources Enugu State, Mr. Dubem Onyia, in his speech said that the Enugu State government had done much to provide decent toilets and safe water to residents.
He commended UNICEF for their efforts to ensuring that the state became open-defecation-free.
UNICEF Field Communication Officer, Mrs. Ijeoma Onuoha Ogwe earlier in her welcome address explained the value of toilets in the life of children, especially girl children as it does not only give them privacy and dignity but also protect them from rape and other sexual offences.
