Environment
‘Nigeria Loses $1bn To Open Defecation, Annually’
A recent study carried out by the Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) has revealed that Nigeria loses $1billion an equivalent of N155 billion to open defecation yearly.
The study, which had earlier indicated that Nigeria lost N455 billion equivalent to $2.93 billion, annually due to poor sanitation, also showed that 70 million Nigerians use shared latrines, while 32 million defecated in the open.
The Water and Sanitation Programme is a multi-donor partnership administered by the World Bank to support poor people in obtaining affordable, safe and sustainable access to water and sanitation services.
The study which deals on impacts of poor sanitation in Nigeria, was conducted by the programmes’s team in Africa;
It used objectively verified data sources and conservative numbers to estimate the economic impacts.
The study showed that the data used for the estimates were largely derived from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP).
The prototype review and concept was endorsed by Mr Benson Ajisegiri, Deputy Director, in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
It stated that “open defecation costs Nigeria $1billion per year and that eliminating the practice would require less than 6.5 million latrines to be built and used.
It stated that 70 million Nigerians use unsanitary or shared latrines and that the poorest was 10 times more likely to practice open defecation than the richest.
The study also indicated that each person practicing open defecation, spent almost 2.5 days a year finding a private location to defecate; leading to large economic losses.
It said that $243 million (N37.7 billion) was lost each year in access time and the cost fell inappropriately on women as caregivers, who might spend additional time accompanying young children, sick or elderly relatives.
“This cost is likely to be an underestimation as those without toilets, particularly women, will be obliged to find a private location for urination as well; also, $2.5 billion (N387.5 billion) is lost each year due to premature death.
It indicated that approximately, 121,800 Nigerians, including 87,100 children under five, died each year from diarrhea; nearly 90 per cent of which was directly attributed to poor water, sanitation and hygiene.
The study named poor sanitation as a contributing factor to other leading causes of child mortality, including malaria and measles.
It stated that “$13 million (N2.1 billion) is lost each year due to productivity losses whilst sick or accessing health care.
“This includes time absent from work or school due to diarrheal disease, seeking treatment from a health clinic or hospital, and time spent caring for under five children suffering from diarrhea or other sanitation-attributable diseases.’’
In costs quantified by the study, open defecation cost more per person than any other type of unimproved sanitation with the additional costs due mainly to the time taken to find a safe, private location for defecation.
Costs were also associated with shared sanitation, taking into consideration the time taken to reach and queue at a public latrine, as well as user-fees.
“Sanitation or lack thereof is a public health issue, and people are affected by their neighbours and communities’ sanitation status, as well as their own, and the costs of open defecation are felt throughout the community.
“Open defecation also has considerable social costs; loss of dignity and privacy or risk of physical attack and sexual violence may not be easily valued in monetary units.
“But these issues are the reality when sanitation facilities are not available,’’ the study stated.
The study indicated that the time costs for accessing the site of open defection and extra travel time was based on the expert opinion of over 25 sector specialists.
The study urged the Nigeria government to channel more resources into sanitation services by targeting investments to the poorest to address their sanitation needs.
It identified equity and uptake as particular bottlenecks along the service delivery pathway in both rural and urban sanitation.
“What needs to be done is to allocate higher investments to sanitation.
“Current sanitation investment in Nigeria is less than 0.1 per cent GDP which is lower than several estimates for what is required.
“Increased investments in sanitation and hygiene promotion are required not only to realise health and welfare benefits of sanitation, but also to avert large economic losses,’’ it said.
The study urged all sanitation agencies to prioritise the elimination of open defecation and propose low cost and effective ways of reducing the practice.
The Federal Government has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to remove tariffs on selected products.
Rep. Sam Onuigbo a member of the Governing Board of the North-East Development Commission, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
Onuigbo said that the agreement signed in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 11 to 15, marked a major breakthrough for Nigeria-UAE economic relations.
NAN reports that Onuigbo, a member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria who represented Ikwuano/Umuahia North and South Federal Constituency, served as Chairman, Committee of Climate Change during the 8th Assembly.
“Under the CEPA signed in January 2026, UAE will eliminate tariffs on 7,315 Nigerian products. This includes immediate duty-free access for 2,805 products (38.3 per cent).
” The rest will phase out over three to five years, covering agricultural and industrial goods.
“Similarly, under the Nigeria/UAE CEPA also signed in January 2026, Nigeria has eliminated tariffs on 6,243 products imported from UAE. That agreement creates these wonderful opportunities between Nigerians and the Emirates,” he said.
Onuigbo said that the agreement was massive as it would facilitate an environment for business owners in Nigeria.
He said the pact would enable verified Nigerian business owners to establish offices in UAE, operate for up to three months and return home with expanded commercial networks.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for the agreement, saying it aimed at repositioning the country while also creating an enabling environment for employment opportunities.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness for business, noting that the country also unveiled its carbon market framework policy to attract climate-focused investments
”Nigeria is a nation of nearly 250 million people and has had, over the years, the challenge of enough energy or power to be able to attain its economic and industrialisation targets.
“And because of that, Nigeria has been engaging in different activities, for instance, the Energy Transition Plan, enactment of the Climate Change Act, and the Electricity Act which the President signed barely eight days after he assumed office in 2023.
“This shows the importance of addressing the energy gap having enough energy. Electricity is a fundamental point to developing industrially which Nigeria deems necessary,” he said.
Onuigbo lauded Nigeria’s participation at the Abu Dhabi summit saying that the summit would strengthen global economic opportunity for people.
He added that the President’s collaboration would address the challenges and devastating effects of climate change as well as boost economic growth in 2026
Environment
HYPREP Completes Phase One Mangrove Restoration In Ogoniland, Warns Against Re-Pollution
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, says it has achieved a major environmental milestone in Ogoniland with the full completion of Phase One of its mangrove restoration programme, even as it warned that renewed pollution could erase years of painstaking cleanup.
“We have completed Phase One planting and restoration at 100 per cent. We are now in the monitoring stage, with some sites already observed for up to nine months,” he said.
Beyond mangroves, Aguiyi reported significant progress in soil and groundwater remediation, describing the last quarter as one of HYPREP’s most productive periods since the Ogoni cleanup commenced.
He disclosed that shoreline cleanup has reached about 77 per cent completion, while access to safe drinking water has expanded across Ogoni communities.
“We have restored 100 per cent potable water supply to Ebubu, and reconstruction work has commenced at the Gwara Waterfall,” Aguiyi stated.
On infrastructure, he said key equipment for the long-awaited Ogoni Power Project has been procured and secured at the Wiyaakara substation, signalling movement toward energy support for the restoration effort.
Despite the progress, Aguiyi warned that re-pollution remains the single greatest threat to the success of the Ogoni cleanup.
“Our major concern is waking up one day to find areas cleaned with Ogoni people’s resources re-polluted by activities beyond our control,” he said, stressing that environmental recovery must be protected as much as it is delivered.
He attributed the sharp decline in illegal artisanal refining in Ogoniland over the past two to three years to sustained community engagement and alternative livelihood programmes, which he said have reduced economic dependence on destructive practices.
“We have not recorded incidents of artisanal refining in Ogoniland in the last two to three years, and that is the result of consistent sensitisation and viable livelihood options,” he added.
Aguiyi reaffirmed HYPREP’s willingness to collaborate with companies and partners operating in Ogoniland, noting that initiatives aligned with the project’s environmental and social objectives would be reviewed and adopted where appropriate.
He also said recommendations from recent independent and internal reports are already being implemented, underscoring HYPREP’s commitment to transparency, accountability, environmental recovery, and improved livelihoods for Ogoni communities.
Environment
Over Six Million Benue Residents Exposed To Neglected Tropical Diseases – State Government
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, disclosed this during a press conference to mark the 2026 World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, organised in collaboration with Sightsavers and themed “Unite, Act, Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).”
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Beatrice Tsavmbu, the commissioner announced the successful elimination of blinding trachoma in Gwer East, Gwer West and Ukum Local Government Areas, attributing the feat to years of targeted interventions, strong community participation and sustained implementation of the state’s NTDs Control and Elimination Programme.
“I am proud to announce the elimination of blinding trachoma in three of our most affected areas—Gwer East, Gwer West and Ukum. No longer will these communities face the blindness that trachoma has long inflicted,” she said.
However, Dr. Tsavmbu noted that Benue State remains highly endemic for several NTDs, with all 23 local government areas experiencing overlapping disease burdens. She listed the diseases to include onchocerciasis (river blindness), lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), schistosomiasis (bilharziasis), soil-transmitted helminth infections (intestinal worms), leprosy, buruli ulcer and snakebite envenoming.
“These conditions collectively put over six million people in Benue State at risk,” she stated.
She revealed that the state had treated an average of more than five million people over the past five years through preventive chemotherapy, morbidity management and disability prevention, supported by Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives and integrated vector control.
Dr. Tsavmbu also announced a major breakthrough in the fight against river blindness, noting that onchocerciasis endemicity in the state had been reclassified from ongoing transmission to suspected interruption of transmission.
On lymphatic filariasis, she disclosed that 1,064 hydrocele cases had been successfully managed through free surgeries, while 442 lymphoedema patients received free management kits to prevent disease progression. She added that 44 trachoma trichiasis cases were also treated through free surgical interventions.
According to her, Ukum, Logo and Konshisha LGAs have passed Transmission Assessment Survey 1 for lymphatic filariasis, allowing for the cessation of mass drug administration in those areas. In addition, seven other LGAs—Ado, Apa, Kwande, Obi, Ohimini, Oju and Tarka—successfully passed epidemiological monitoring surveys in 2025.
She attributed the progress recorded to strong inter-sectoral collaboration involving agencies such as the Benue Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (BERWASSA), the State Universal Basic Education Board, the Ministry of Education, civil society organisations and security agencies. She also cited the inauguration of the State NTDs Advisory Committee and improvements in supply chain and logistics management systems.
In a related remark, Prof. Edward Omudu of the Department of Biological Sciences, Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, revealed that the National Universities Commission had recently approved Nigerian universities to offer degree programmes in Water, Sanitation and Health, describing the move as a critical step toward strengthening disease prevention and public health capacity in the country.
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