Appraising Nigeria's Efforts to Meet MDGs on WASH

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Appraising Nigeria's Efforts to Meet MDGs on WASH

Nigeria, a Signatory to the MDGs, Claims that in its Efforts to Achieve the Goals, It has Been Able to Attain 65 % and 75 % Coverage in Water and Sanitation Respectively

With a few months to the 2015 deadline set for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), some observers are of the view that Nigeria is off-track in efforts to meet some of the targets.

The MDGs are eight time-bound and measurable goals which were launched by the United Nations (UN) in 2000 to spur development by improving the socio-economic conditions of the world's poorest countries.

A recent joint report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicated that 63 million Nigerians did not have access to water supply.

Similarly, a new report released by WaterAid, an international organisation, said that Nigeria and several other sub-Saharan African countries might not be able to meet the MDG on water and sanitation until 2175 - 160 years after the 2015 terminal date set for the MDGs.

The report warned that if Nigeria failed to meet the MDG, which aims at halving the proportion of the population without sustainable access to water supply and good sanitation by 2015, the lives of more than 100,000 children under the age of five will be at risk every year.

It stressed that the proportion of people with access to reliable water supply and good sanitation was actually falling in the country.

The MDG on water and sanitation is specifically designed to address the challenges facing people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Concerned observers lament that an appraisal of Nigeria's 14-year efforts to provide its citizens with safe drinking water and basic sanitation reveals that the country may not be able achieve the target of the MDG.

However, Dr Martin Mbonu, the EU Programme Manager, blamed Nigeria's inability to expand the people's access to potable water considerably on the dearth of laws regulating the water sector.

Nevertheless, Mbonu disputed claims by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources that Nigeria had attained 65 per cent water coverage, in lieu of the 75 per cent target.

Source: AllAfrica

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