The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, says Nigeria needs to improve its sanitation value chain, which includes containment, transportation, treatment, and disposal, in order to become open defecation-free by 2025.
Prof Utsev also emphasized the importance of speeding up the provision of good and safe toilet facilities and efficient waste disposal.
Prof Utsev stated this on Thursday during a joint press briefing organized by the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Environment to mark 2023 World Toilet Day in Abuja.
Prof Utsev mentioned that although 105 local government areas and over 40,000 communities have achieved open defecation-free (ODF) status, much more still needs to be done to meet the SDG target for 2025.
He explained that government was committed to creating an enabling environment through policies, regulations, and frameworks, and the federal government has implemented policies and projects that are producing positive outcomes to accomplish the set objectives.
”In recognition of the cross-cutting nature of the government’s interventions, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation is collaborating with other partners under the auspices of the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS) to commemorate 2023 World Toilet Day. The commemoration activities are targeted at mobilizing actions at all levels through building synergy to improve sustainable access to sanitation in the country. It is our target to reach every Nigerian with a message on safe toilets and sanitation systems in the course of these engagements. The modest achievements recorded through our interventions were made possible through the collaboration of partners.”
Similarly, the Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Abbas warned that open defecation in Nigeria will no longer be business as usual as the Ministry would henceforth deploy all its regulatory framework to ensure adequate enforcement of sanitation laws in the country.
”Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to also use this opportunity to inform you that issues of open defecation in Nigeria will no longer be business as usual as the Federal Ministry of Environment will henceforth deploy all its regulatory framework to ensure adequate enforcement of sanitation laws in the country. I therefore call on all Environmental Health Officers and sanitary inspectors across all levels of government to step up their routine sanitary inspection of premises in their various jurisdictions and ensure that everyone everywhere in Nigeria has access to safe toilets.”
World Toilet Day, celebrated on the 19th of November annually to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis, as 4.2 billion people live without safely managed sanitation and around 673 million people practice open defecation.
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