ABUJA – Slow progress on sanitation and the entrenched practice of open defecation among millions around the world continue to put children and their communities at risk, UNICEF warned on World Toilet Day.
Some 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have adequate toilets and among them 1 billion defecate in the open. Here in Nigeria, about 119 million people are not using safe toilets which includes 50 million people defecating in the open. Nigeria is among the top five countries in the world with high population practising open defecation and the number of open defecators has been on increase since 1990.
Lack of a safe, clean toilet and practice of open defecation seriously impact people’s health, wellbeing and dignity as well as efforts towards poverty reduction, economic and social development and the environment. There has been an upsurge in cholera cases in Nigeria which is primary due to poor sanitation and hygiene practices in the country. The recent epidemiology report from Federal Ministry of Health reported 34,825 cases of cholera as against 2882 cases over the same period in 2013. Every year over 150,000 Nigerian children die from diarrhoea alone, largely caused by unsafe water, sanitation & hygiene practices
The call to end the practice of open defecation is being made with growing insistence from United Nations which is being led by the office of Deputy Secretary General, encouraging countries to prioritize investments in sanitation and develop appropriate interventions to end this menace. In response to this call, the Nigerian government has shown commitments to end open defecation by 2025, a target which is not only commendable but achievable considering Nigeria’s potential. A country that has 75% of its households having mobile phones can easily mobilize the people to have simple toilets and end open defecation. Towards achieving the set target, UNICEF Nigeria is supporting the government to develop a national roadmap for elimination of open defecation in the country by 2025.