Using the toilet and washing hands with soap has become a great experience for me. I grew up to see my family members defecate in the bush, but our fortunes turned around early this year when my father was able to construct a toilet using Sato Pan", said 16-year-old Faith Ede, a native of Jago in Oyo State.
The use of toilets and washing hands with soap according to public health experts is key in keeping children, families and communities safe from disease outbreaks and good health. However, in Nigeria, open defecation remains a deeply ingrained practice.
No thanks to the fact that Nigeria ranks No. 1 globally among countries with the highest number of people defecating in the open space.
It is no longer news that going into the bush to defecate is a dangerous challenge as faeces left in the bushes, waterways and homes are major causes of disease outbreaks such as cholera, and diarrhoea. These practices expose children and family members to poor sanitation and hygiene-related illnesses.
However, ending open defecation is doable. Like India which was the leading country with the highest number of people defecating in the open, Nigeria can eradicate open defecation.
But Nigeria's target to end open defecation by 2025 may remain a mirage as the 2021, WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping on Nigeria's sanitation status showed that 48 million Nigerians still defecate in the open while 95 million have no access to basic sanitation services.
The WASH report also revealed that about 1.3 per cent of GDP or N455 billion is lost annually due to poor access to sanitation, healthcare savings and productivity.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari 2018 declared a State of Emergency in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector. and in November 2019, Nigeria flagged off the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign. The Campaign was backed by Executive Order 9, towards making Nigeria Open Defecation Free by 2025.
Although the Clean Nigeria Campaign is working assiduously to improve the number of Open Defecation Free, ODF, Local Governments Areas, LGAs, in the country, statistics have shown that Nigeria needs to build not less than 3.9 million toilets annually to meet the 2025 target of open defecation.
The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, Jane Bevan, said the current toilet construction in Nigeria of between 180,000 and 200,000 toilets annually is inadequate.
While stakeholders are of the view that there is a need to do things differently by creating demand for toilets, serious gaps abound in the campaign to make Nigeria Open Defecation Free, ODF.
Today, while open defecation persists in the many communities across Nigeria, public places in the urban areas are not left out. Even in big cities like Lagos, faeces are everywhere. From Lagos to Maiduguri apart from Jigawa which is the first state to attain ODF in Nigeria, the case is the same.
Public places like Markets, and motor garages among others lack WASH facilities. In Mile 2 areas of Lagos, operators of trailers and tankers who are on a daily basis along Mile -Apapa expressway have turned the road into pit toilets. They now use foils popularly known as take-away plates as toilet pans. They go to the toilet in it and throw it anywhere on the road. For instance, the lack of investments in wash facilities remains a major setback in the 2025 target. According to the WASHNORM report, States with the highest open defecation rate are; Ebonyi 73%, Plateau 56%, Kogi 56%, Oyo 54%, Kwara 50%, Kebbi 50%, Engu 48%, Niger 46% Nassarawa 46%, Benue 45%, and Bayelsa 45%.
LGAS that are OD free
According to a UNICEF WASH Specialist, Mr Monday Johnson, barely two years to the country's 2025 target, as of 31st August 2023, only a total of 105 LGAs out of the 774 LGAs are open defecation free, (ODF) with Jigawa State leading with 27 LGAs.
Others are; Anambra-1, Akwa -Ibom-1, Bauchi-8, Benue-9, Borno-2, Cross-Rivers-6, Kano-11, Kaduna-7, Katsina-25, Osun-1, Yobe-1, Zamfara-3, and Imo-1. Nigeria has a roadmap for ODF and some states have adopted it. sadly, many state governments who have adopted it are yet to mobilise resources and implement the plan just like India did.
Stating that there should be adequate funding to tackle open defecation, he said: "Over the years, we have always seen that the budget for wash is usually lump together for what has three components - water, sanitation and hygiene. Now, when you are making a budget, you are putting those three components together. Most of the budget amount is usually spent on a supply facility and construction because these are things that people easily see and appreciate even if you go to the communities now and ask, what do they need? The first thing that they will tell you is water, But when the water is there, that is not the end, the use of that water has to be complemented by sanitation and hygiene. That keeps the water clean, and safe from the source to the house Nigeria has a roadmap for ODF and some states have adopted it. Johnson said with the rate of LGA ODF, Nigeria will be achieving ODF by 2046.
Stating the funding needs for the Clean Nigeria Campaign and ODF Roadmap of 20,073,000 Household Toilets, Johnson who quoted statistics from UNICEF, FMWR and IMF calculations, said an estimated cost for open defecation in Nigeria is put at N1,555 billion ($3.5 billion) or N193 billion per year while households costs is put at N1,094 billion; government costs is N457 billion or N57 billion per year. Sadly, current government investment is put at N14.4 billion, according to the WASH account for 2019/2020).
Johnson said Nigeria has a deficit of N46 billion for ODF. He regretted that most states are yet to establish WASH, in all the LGAs said Nigeria cannot continue business as usual or it will miss the target of 2025. He expressed worry that Nigeria will not be ODF by 2025 and will maintain its top rank as the country with the most number of OD people practising open defecation.
Cost of Open Defecation
The WASH Specialist further stated that open defecation spreads disease quickly and can lead to death.
He explained that the health impact of open defecation is that it can cause stunting, wasting and malnutrition in children. Studies have shown that more than 100,000 children under 5 years of age die each year due to diarrhoea and other water Sanitation and hygiene-related diseases. It can also lead to loss of dignity, privacy and security as people can be attacked in the process of going to the bush to defecate.
He further explained that open defecation can also lead to low productivity as frequent episodes of WASH-related diseases cause absence from school or work as affected people take time off to heal.
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Like Jigawa and India achieve ODF, Nigeria can also reach its goals with a commitment on the part of the government at all levels.
For Johnson, until every Nigerian plays their part, the country may not achieve ODF. On how to achieve the goals, he said there was the need to increase investments and targeted funding by government, and development partners, adding that initiatives like the Community-Led Total Sanitation, CLTS, support households as everyone pays for their latrines. He said the CLTS approach recognises the individual household's toilets and that the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet" in addition to CLTS will create demand. Johnson also identified the need to engage the private sector through proven approaches.
What states need to do urgently
To get Nigeria back on track, Johnson explained that States need to create a Sanitation Pool fund with state government funds with a minimum of N50m.
He said there was also the need to mobilise SMEs to construct and operate sanitation facilities in public places, markets, expressways and transport hubs. "States need to engage private companies operating in the states for support for ODF acceleration.
"States should roll out Sanitation Marketing and Financing; identify and engage Celebrities.
And dignitaries who will epitomise the ODF Campaign in all public events, work with the media- Each state radio station should be engaged in sample jingles from CNC, promote intersectoral collaborations- all Education, Health, Nutrition and WASH agencies may have monthly/quarterly steering meeting, and support LGA-wide Sanitation Interventions.
