Abuja — Every November 19, the world celebrates the World Toilet Day (WTD) as it is a day set aside to inform governments all over the world of the dangers that the sanitation sector is witnessing.

It has been estimated that about 780,000 children die yearly from diarrheal diseases in Africa, which is caused by poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water which accounts for 88% of these death.

Nigeria and Ethiopia have been ranked as the highest among the countries with low sanitation coverage in the African continent as the people especially those in the rural areas and suburbs practice open Defecation.

According to a water and sanitation expert with the WaterAid Nigeria, Mrs. Ada Oko-William, over 588 million Africans practice open defecation with West Africa Accounting for about 211 million.

"With Nigeria having the largest population in Africa, if it can achieve half the coverage of ODF it will go along way in solving the problem of open defecation," she said.

She gave graphic details of how many people especially children die due to inadequate and inappropriate means of managing fecal matters as sanitation matters are not given priorities by the government.

Also speaking, the Head of Governance, WaterAid, Juanita During, said that life without toilets in Africa especially Nigeria is a daily living reality "and most people endure it as part of their daily life"

She said that Africa is presently off-track to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target for sanitation adding that "at current rate of progress the target to reduce by half those without access adequate sanitation by 2015 will not be met till 2084."

She added that" securing progress in sanitation sector is critical to a wider developmental effort and particular to accelerating progress against, health, education and poverty MDGs."

However according to figures given by the WaterAid, to meet the MDG on sanitation, coverage needs to be increased from the present 38% in 2006 to about 67% in 2015.

The report further said that only six countries in the African continent are on track to meet the MDG on sanitation by 2015.

The report said that on the average 45 million Africans need to gain access to sanitation every year until 2015 and even with that i.e. when the MDG on sanitation is met about 385 million Africans will still be without sanitation due to population increase, the report added.

The report further said that open defecation which is the riskiest sanitation practice has dropped by 153 million as against 583 million in 2006. However increase in coverage is not keeping pace with population growth.

"Open defecation has dropped in Africa from 33% in 1990 to 24% in 2006, although the absolute number of people practicing open defecation has increased by 20 million," the report said.

Decrying the lack of commitment from all tiers of government, Mr. Apolos Nwafor an expert on water and sanitation said that if Nigeria must come close to achieving the sanitation target, it must first of all harmonized all policies and agencies handling water and sanitation matters.

It must also sign and domesticate the e-Thekwini declaration so that it can fully commit itself to the water and sanitation sector.

"we now know that about 589 million people in Africa don't have toilets, they don't also have access to water and sanitation but I tell you the chief among these is lack of toilets and until Nigeria sign and domesticate the e-Thekwini declaration on sanitation as well as harmonizing all its policies on water and sanitation we are not getting anywhere," he said.

Also a UNICEF expert on water and sanitation, Bisi Agberemi, said that the Nigerian media most remain at the forefront of championing the cause of water and sanitation as it mainly affects the poor and vulnerable who are mostly in rural areas and suburbs of the country.

He added that media being the mouth piece of the people must call for a collective front so that their will be immediate action by all concerned in the sector.