UNICEF seeks policy to end open defecation

By Doris Obinna

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appealed to the Federal Government to ensure public places from markets to filling stations provide clean and accessible toilets. The move, announced as part of a broader push to end open defecation and protect public health, comes in response to concerning statistics.

The 2021 WASH report revealed that only 10 percent of Nigerians have access to complete basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services, according to global JMP definitions. Experts expressed concern, noting that poor WASH conditions expose communities to preventable diseases and economic losses, which could be avoided with stronger policy enforcement and public awareness.

Speaking at a media dialogue on “Accelerating Actions to Improve Urban Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Nigeria,” UNICEF’s Director of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Mr. Monday Johnson, said the absence of basic sanitation facilities in public spaces continues to fuel open defecation and the spread of preventable diseases.

Johnson urged the construction of toilets and sanitation facilities in markets, filling stations, and other public places to tackle the menace of open defecation.

The UNICEF WASH Specialist said, “One of the things the government can do to reduce open defecation is to ensure that all filling stations have clean and accessible sanitation facilities.” He added that policies should be enacted to enforce them. “The same should be done in markets where people spend long hours each day. Make these facilities available everywhere; they can even serve as income-generating ventures. These things are not happening, and that is why we have open defecation.”

He stressed that improving sanitation and hygiene behavior is critical not only to public health but also to poverty reduction. “Good sanitation and hygiene behavior will reduce poverty. When people contract diseases due to a lack of hygiene, they cannot attend to their businesses.”

UNICEF’s Communication Officer, Blessing Ejiofor, also emphasized that access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is a fundamental human right, calling for stronger commitment from both the government and citizens to ensure no one is left behind.

Director, Community Mobilisation and Hygiene Education at the Oyo State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (OYORUWASSA), Adegoke Ayodele, highlighting progress made in the state through sustained WASH programmes, describing them as “success stories that must be built upon.”

Programme Officer at the Oyo State Ministry of Information, Adeola Adewole, said: “The media has a powerful role to play in driving behavioural change. We must continue to speak about WASH issues until they become a priority in every community.”