Benue, Cross River get N750m to address sanitation, hygiene

The WSSCC is a global body supporting national governments on efforts to scale-up access to basic sanitation and to adopt good hygiene practices.The support is on the heels of recent statistics from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources which noted that over 100 million Nigerians lacked access to improved sanitation while a large portion of […]

The WSSCC is a global body supporting national governments on efforts to scale-up access to basic sanitation and to adopt good hygiene practices.
The support is on the heels of recent statistics from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources which noted that over 100 million Nigerians lacked access to improved sanitation while a large portion of the population still practice open defecation.
“In Nigeria, the population with access to sanitation recorded a downward trend from 37 per cent in 1990 to 34 per cent in 2000 and 31 per cent in 2010. The implication of the low level of access to sanitation is the high diarrhoea prevalence rates and under-5 mortality,” The statistic also showed.
Mrs Sarah Reng Ochekpe, Minister of Water Resources said at a ceremony marking the formal launch of rural sanitation and hygiene promotion in Nigeria that Nigerians with access to proper sanitation have been fluctuating since 1990.
“For us to reach our national target of 75 per cent access by 2020, massive investment is needed to provide access to water supply and basic sanitation and hygiene,” Ochekpe said.
The minister also said without access to portable water and basic sanitation, the development and wellbeing of Nigerians would be in jeopardy.
Nigeria, according to Daily Trust findings loses about N455 billion annually due to poor sanitation.
Documents from the Department of Water Quality Control and Sanitation at the Ministry of Water Resources stated that the benefiting state governments would contribute matching funds to the N750 million which would be channeled towards scaling up of the programme in other local government areas as well as in building public latrines and facilities in public places.