Despite efforts by the federal government and partners to ensure access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in the country, the 2021 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM 111) report showed an increase in the number of Nigerians practicing open defecation, from 46million in 2019 to 48million in 2021. The report, which presents the state of water, sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria, also showed that 83 percent of household members in the country lack access to basic hygiene services. It revealed the low status of the country’s WASH sector, with 90 percent of the country’s population lacking access to complete basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
This is in spite of the fact that the Sustainable Development Goal 6 seeks to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030, Recall that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had said that Nigeria needed to invest 1.30 per cent of it’s GDP per year ($5.3b or N1.
9trillion) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) by 2030. UNICEF also said that Nigeria losses about 1.3 per cent (₦455 Billion) of her GDP annually to poor sanitation.
It added that 90 percent of the 102,000 diarrhea related under five child deaths annually was directly attributed to unsafe water and sanitation. According to the organisation, it is more cost-effective to construct more toilets for conflict-.