WaterAid, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), says Nigeria loses N455 billion of its GDP to poor sanitation annually, with other stakeholders, including a top government official and a health expert, concurring.

The organisation’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Michael Ojo disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

“Not having access to clean water and good hygiene for us as a country, is costing us N455 billion every year from our Gross Domestic Product; so water and sanitation work for our economy.

“Good sanitation promotes health because if people don’t have access to clean water and use contaminated water, they get sick.

“It costs us a lot of money as a country to treat illnesses that we could prevent if we invest in the right facility,” Ojo said.

He also noted that good water and sanitation facilities would promote education because it is detrimental to any child’s future to use school hours in search of water.

Reacting on the economic impact of poor sanitation on the country, the Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation, Federal Ministry of Water Resources,Dr Obioha Agada confirmed that the Federal Government lost “huge’’ amount of money due to poor sanitation culture.

Agada said: “A recent report had shown that inadequate water and poor sanitation costs the Nigerian economy N444 billion naira yearly.

“Poor sanitation not only contributes to environmental degradation, but also contributes significantly to the pollution of water; destroys fishes and the business of fishermen and adds to the cost of safe water.

“We are not relenting on our part to ensure a sustainable environment because presently the reports we get in the field show that the percentage of people with improved sanitation is increasing by the day,’’ he said.

He further said that national and state Task Groups on Sanitation were doubling efforts to improve sanitation at the grassroots.

On her part, the Executive Director, Women Environment Programme (WEP), Mrs Priscilla Achakpa, urged the Federal Government to properly capture sanitation in the constitution to boost development.

“It is rather unfortunate that the issue of sanitation has not been on the front burner of the Nigerian government both in terms of policy and programming until recently.

“Government should adequately capture sanitation in the federal constitution in order to improve the country’s development.

She advocated for waste management strategies that could would accrue economic benefits for the country and increase the country’s GDP per capita.

According to her, these strategies would enhance the capacity of Nigerians, thereby reducing poverty, and providing good sustenance of livelihoods for sustainable development.

“It is an understatement to state that Nigeria is losing such a huge economic benefit from the development and management of sanitation and waste.’’

“Solid and liquid waste can be used to create wealth and job opportunities for the thousands of unemployed Nigerian youths.

“It will reduce environmental and health hazards, especially in urban and rural communities and generate economic activities such as biomass, electricity through waste as it’s being done in other countries like India,” she said.

Echoing similar views, Nigeria’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Ambassador, Ms Ebele Okeke argued that if sanitation issues were tackled properly, the country would have a healthy workforce which would in turn ensure speedy development of all sectors.

Okeke emphasised the need for proper hygiene measures, through the construction of toilets and water points in schools and public places.

According to her, investing in sanitation could yield more than a 100 per cent profit.

In separate interviews with newsmen, residents of Karu, Nyanya and Garki said that indiscriminate disposal of waste in neighbourhoods due to the lack of dump sites, exposed them to all manner of health challenges.

When approached on the issue, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board said that the misuse of bins and poor hygiene attitude of residents were responsible for poor sanitation in the FCT.

Head, Information and Outreach Programme of the board, Mr Joseph Ukairo,  noted that the board replaced the monthly sanitation with house -to- house inspection in order to check the trend.

He recalled that in the 1970s when sanitary inspectors conducted house-to-house’ inspections, various diseases noticeable today were not rampant.

He, therefore, cautioned residents to dispose their refuse properly and imbibe hygiene culture, especially in satellite towns, to reduce funds spent on waste management.

Also speaking, a health officer with the FCT Primary Health Care Development Board (PHCDB), Mrs Aisha Bakpet  proposed the “Community-Led Total Sanitation” approach to communities that still practised open defecation.

She urged them to construct latrines in order to reduce diseases to help save money for their communities and the country at large.

In the same vein, a medical practitioner at the Nyanya General Hospital, Dr Chika Agu,  said that poor sanitation and water services slowed health improvements in the country.

“ Hundreds of patients flood the hospitals daily for malaria, typhoid, and dysentery treatment because of poor sanitary conditions at home and in the workplace.

According to a 2010 data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics on sanitation, only 9.4 per cent of the country’s waste were satisfactorily disposed, while 90.6 per cent of refuse were haphazardly disposed .

The bureau also recorded 42.5 per cent of safe water for drinking and cooking 57.5 per cent unsafe in the same year with only 58.3 per cent households having access to water.