48 million Nigerians currently defecate in the open. The minister of water resources made this known during the world press conference ahead of the world toilet summit coming up in November.
According to the minister, 85 LGAs in Nigeria are currently open defecation free while Jigawa state as at yesterday became the only state in Nigeria to be validated as open defecation free.
He said hosting the forthcoming world toilet summit which comes up November 18 and 19 2022 will afford Nigeria the opportunity to get more visibility for it’s programs and efforts towards ending open defecation as well as showcase behavior change in addressing sanitation challenges in the country. He added that the summit will encourage production of sanitation products which will contribute to the economy.
The permanent secretary in her welcome remarks thanked all for coming and said the summit will enable stakeholders have a wider range of interaction within the sanitation value chain. According to her, it will create awareness on new innovation , entrepreneurial potential and promote collective efforts to end open defecation in Nigeria by 2025.
The founder world toilet organization,Mr Jack Sim, said he is excited about the event and commended the Minister for wanting a clean and safe environment. He said he is willing to collaborate with Nigeria to end defecation in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Various stakeholders like UNICEF, OPS-Wash, Coca-cola Ă nd Reckitts, producers of Harpic all extended their congratulations to the ministry saying the summit was timely and will spur progress in sanitation.
Nigeria is the second African country to hosts the summit since it was instituted in 2013, South Africa was the first to host. The theme of the summit is ” Sanitation, Innovation for economic development”.
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