1 in every 3 Nigerians don’t have access to clean water, sanitation

– 66% of Nigerians don’t have access to clean water and improved sanitation

– Nigeria may not meet up with Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) 

One in every three Nigerians don’t have access to clean water while 66% of the nation’s population don’t have access to improved sanitation. The Head of Programme, Oxfam Nigeria, Mr Constant Tchona, made this disclosure at a media briefing on World Water Day celebration in Abuja.

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“In Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with an estimated population of 170 million people, access to safe water and sanitation is a major challenge with about 39% (63 million people) of the population lacking access to safe or clean water sources while nearly 112 million people are without access to improved sanitation despite the progress made by the MDG project,” he said.

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark this year celebrations, Tchona warned that if the dismal state of access to clean water and sanitation is not quickly addressed it might limit Nigeria’s chances of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) on clean water and sanitation.

According to the latest world statistics on access to clean water and sanitation:

– Nearly 800 million people worldwide don’t have access to water and even more people lack access to basic sanitation service

– 3.5 million people die annually from water-related diseases

– About 1.7 million children under the age of 5 are among the  people who die yearly from diarrhea disease

Situation in Nigeria

Mr Tchona expressed concerns that water and sanitation coverage rates in Nigeria are still amongst the lowest in the world.

Besides, the absence of sanitation facilities is responsible for young girls dropping out of school and women being harassed and assaulted on their way to fresh water or secluded places to defecate.

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Tchona, expressed strong disastifaction over the inability of the poorest and most vulnerable members of the society to buy water from informal vendors at lower  prices, when compared to those in the city who can afford to pay for piped water or sink boreholes.

Urging government at all tiers to be proactive enough when it comes to water crisis adding that most issues pertaining to water borders around crisis in governance, weak policies and poor management.

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