UN Warns Nigeria on Dangers of Open Defecation

United Nations Shows that Number of People Who Can Accessto Improved Sanitation Facilities Has Dropped Down in Country

The United Nations (UN) recently ranked Nigeria fifth among countries globally, where open defecation is common. JOKE FALAJU writes on why the federal government urgently needs to address the problem.

A Recent report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) shows that the number of people with access to improved sanitation facilities in Nigeria dropped from 31 per cent last year to 28 per cent of the population this year. By implication, about 122 million Nigerians presently do not have access to improved sanitation, while a staggering 39 million, about 23 per cent of the population, defecate in the open.

Consequently, 500,000 Nigerian children die every year from diarrhoea and respiratory infections alone. While diarrhoea is responsible for 194,000 deaths, according to the report, respiratory infections kill another 240,000, while the country loses a staggering N455 billion annually to poor sanitation. Open defecation costs Nigeria some $1billion annually.

The study further revealed that each person practicing open defecation spends almost 2.5 days a year finding a private location to defecate, leading to a loss of $243 million yearly in access time. The study disclosed that $13 million is also lost annually due to productivity loss when people fall sick, adding that a whooping $191 million is spent annually on health care, which includes the costs of consultation, medication, transport and hospitalization.

It revealed that 70 million Nigerians use shared latrines, while 32 million do not have latrines at all. For Nigeria to eliminate open defecation, it would have to build 6.5 million latrines and ensure they are used.

Over one billion people around the world relieve themselves in bushes, fields, roadsides or railway tracks for lack of even a basic, shared pit in the ground. This is 14 per cent of the world's population, or one person in seven. Since 1990, almost 1.9 billion people gained access to improved sanitation globally, of which Nigeria accounted for approximately 13 million. In 2011, the total number of people without access to latrines stood at approximately 2.5 billion.

Source: The Guardian

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Taxonomy

• Heath & Safety
• Sanitation & Hygiene