Country Director, Concern
Universal, Mr Tim Kellow, has appealed to all tiers of government to design policies to address challenges on sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria.
Kellow told newsmen in Abuja recently that government should take ownership of sanitation and hygiene to reduce preventable deaths among citizens.
He said sanitation had yet to be considered a high  priority in spite of the huge health problems poor hygiene caused.
“There are gaps in the sanitation infrastructure, making access to simple facilities like toilets impossible for many people in rural areas.
“Except in Abuja and some areas of Lagos, there are no sewer systems, access to pipe-borne water across communities in the country is low, “ he said.
Kellow said that sanitation had become the responsibility of individual households.
Kellow said there had been increased  access to safe water supply to rural communities through the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes of the organisation.
He also said there was increased  access to adequate sanitation facilities and good personal hygiene in rural communities.
He said over time, the organisation had been able to support communities in terms of potable water supply through hand pumps.
Kellow said the organisation was using the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) model in achieving water and sanitation goals, according to the UN Sustainable Development Goals for member nations.
He, however, expressed optimism that with time, more communities would imbibe hygienic practices, to reduce incidences of preventable ailments.
“The idea of CLTS triggering means sensitising communities on the dangers of defecating in the open, along water bodies and the advantages of having toilets in their homes.
“Initially, implementing the CLTS through triggering has been challenging because a lot of these communities see it as a way of life.
“When you call people to tell them to stop going to the bush to defecate, build your own toilet you find out that in some communities people don’t bother about building their own toilets.
“We are hopeful that over time, maybe in the next five years, through sensitisation and continuous awareness, people will stop defecating indiscriminately, “ he said.
Kellow said it was only through commitment that the goals of ending open defecation and improving basic hygiene could be achieved.
He, however, solicited more support to enable the organisation to increase awareness in sanitation in communities and  continue with its sensitisation campaign to maintain hygiene.
According to estimates from UNICEF and WHO published in 2013, some 768 million people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
The agencies say the situation causes illnesses and preventable deaths in hundreds of thousands of children each year and that most of the people without access are poor and live in rural areas or urban slums.
Concern Universal is the executing agency of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council programme.
It works to improve access to sustainable sanitation, water and hygiene in three local government areas in Cross River and Benue states.