The Federal Government of Nigeria, in partnership with the United Kingdom's Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and Self Help Africa, has called for sustained efforts to maintain and expand the recent achievement of open defecation free status in 158 Local Government Areas and two states across the country.
Celebrating Milestones in Sanitation
The call was made on Sunday in Abuja during the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Systems Learning Forum organized by Self Help Africa's WASH Systems for Health Project, which receives funding from the UK government. The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, emphasized that while the progress is commendable, maintaining these achievements requires continuous effort.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Richard Pheelangwah, the Minister stated: "These milestones are worth celebrating, yet we must remain humble: victory in WASH is never final; it must be continuously maintained. Otherwise, progress can vanish faster than a bucket of cold water left in the Abuja sun."
Addressing Persistent Challenges
Despite the significant progress, the Minister highlighted several ongoing challenges in the WASH sector that require urgent attention:
- Monitoring gaps across various states
- Weak data reliability systems
- Limited accountability mechanisms
- Incomplete operationalization of WASH Information Management System (WASHIMS)
- Data gaps since the last WASHNORM exercise in 2021
The Minister warned that "in the WASH sector, no data is as dangerous as wrong data—both lead to poor decisions." He praised the learning forum as an opportunity to address these challenges and ensure that every investment in the sector becomes traceable, measurable, and accountable.
International Support and Future Goals
Joy Aderele, Country Director of Self Help Africa, revealed that through FCDO support, the organization is implementing a five-year WASH Systems for Health Programme in West Africa, including Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The program aims to strengthen systems, enhance capacities, and reform policies to ensure communities continue to thrive even after the program concludes in 2027.
Aderele noted that while 158 Local Government Areas achieving open defecation free status represents significant progress, it also highlights the scale of remaining work, given Nigeria has over 700 LGAs total.
Gill Fletcher, representing FCDO, emphasized that the WASH Systems for Health project extends beyond Nigeria to five other countries: Sierra Leone, Malawi, Tanzania, Nepal, and Bangladesh. She stressed that WASH is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation, while also contributing to improved health outcomes, gender equality, economic growth, and Nigeria's national development agenda of poverty reduction.
The forum participants agreed that collaboration ranging from government ministries driving reforms to local actors designing context-specific solutions remains essential for transforming sanitation systems across Nigeria.
