Women in Water & Sanitation Business

How Women in Business Are Coping With Water, Sanitation Challenges in Nigeria

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is fundamental to improving the livelihoods and well-being of the poor. Clean water and adequate sanitation lead to improvements in health, school attendance, productivity and entrepreneurship.

Different international bodies focused on how to solve water and sanitation problems for the world sustainably. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), USA and its counterparts in other countries have prioritised WASH sector development by investing $793 million in WASH-related projects in nine partner countries. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Water, Sanitation & Hygiene programme focuses on developing innovative approaches and technologies that can lead to radical and sustainable improvements in sanitation in the developing world. This requires understanding issues across the entire sanitation service chain, including waste containment (toilets), emptying (of pits and septic tanks), transportation (to sewage treatment facilities), waste treatment, and disposal/reuse.

Lack of access to portable water has become a major problem in Nigeria thereby making borehole owners and the "mairuwa" the only source of getting water in major places across the cities while those in the communities resort to wells or streams as their only source. The problem of poor sanitation in many places is becoming alarming as refuse dumps continue to build up in every corner and sometimes close to business areas.

Damola Jimoh who runs a water purification business in Ilorin supplying purified sachet water to University of Ilorin, Al-Hikma University and other local shops and markets in the city says the state needs to provide water for the teeming population of the citizens. She said what prompted her to go into water purification business was because she was into restaurant business and the challenge of getting safe water crumbled the success of her business. Mrs. Jimoh said she went into water purification because most of the sachet water sold were not usually treated. "I fell ill with typhoid sometime last year because of the pure water I was buying during that time. I went to the teaching hospital where I was told to ensure I boil the water I drink. That was when I decided to start this business," she said. Mrs. Jimoh who lives in Taiwo area of Ilorin, wanders why the state government has refused to provide water for the teeming population of the state. She said most houses in the state either have boreholes or wells.

Mrs Susan Bello who manages an eatery in Kuje also noted that most businesses in Nigeria provide their sources of water and sanitation by themselves. She said it was government's responsibility to provide water and sanitation for its citizens, noting that although refuse dumps are cleared by the area council, "it's not in all areas of Kuje." The food seller also said she had to employ a staff that will make sure he cleans the surrounding of her bukka to make it conducive as an eatery. "Food business is very delicate. If your surrounding is not neat, nobody will patronise you. And with my business that is in an open space, I cannot afford to take chances. I employed someone who comes in the mornings to sweep and throw away the refuse before my customers start arriving," she said.

Source: AllAfrica

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Taxonomy

• Non Profit
• Water & Sanitation
• Water Supply