UNICEF has announced that 48 Million Nigerians, representing 23 percent of the Country’s population, still Defecate on open space.
Out of this number, the North -West geographical zone has 11 percent, North-East, 17 percent, North-Central, 47 percent, South -West, 24 percent, South-South, 23 percent and South -East 23 percent.
The Global Agency’s North -East Water Sanitation, and Hygiene manager, Mamita Bora Thakkam, disclosed this in Maiduguri in preparatory of World Toilet Day Celebration held recently.
“With just seven years left until 2030, Nigeria is alarmingly off track with regard to achieving the SDGs on universal access to sanitation”, she warned.
“Only 104 out of the 774 LGA’s in the Country are open defecation-free”, Thakker warned, stressing, ” We need to accelerate our efforts to at achieving access to Universal Sanitation”.
The UNICEF official took a view of the global scene, disclosing, “Globally, there are 3.5 billion people living without safe toilets, and 2.2 billion persons living without safe driinking water. 419 million people still go to the toilet in the open(‘Open defecation’)”
“Ptogress towards Universal Sanitation is alarming off track, unevenly distributed between Countries, and inadequate to eliminate the equalities to ensure that most vulnerable are reached”
She said “With just seven years left, the World has to work, on average, five times faster to meet the sanitation target of SDG 6 – Safe Toilets and Water for All by 2030 on time”
She described sanitation and drinking water as human rights saying “Access to these services is critical to People’s Health and Integrity Development”.
