Director, Community
Emergency Response Initiative, Mr Benson Attah, has urged the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, to put in place policies to increase access of citizens to water and sanitation in his administration.
Attah, who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, said that access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is a human right.
He stressed the need for all stakeholders to put in place policies that would enable more Nigerians have access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
According to him, Nigeria loses 1.3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to illnesses and deaths caused by lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
He said access to potable water, both at the rural and urban areas, was an important factor for national development.
“Water is a developmental issue; education, basic health care, and economic delivery among others, should be in the front burner of national political discourse,” he said.
Attah said Nigeria could achieve access to clean water through political will, saying this need could be promoted by leaders at all tiers of government.
According to him, more than 100 million Nigerians lack access to potable water, sanitation and hygiene, forcing 40 million of them to defecate openly.
“Presently, Nigeria has witnessed migration from rural settings to urban areas and slums; this means that we need to increase our efforts to provide water for all.
“A great deal of work has been done to provide water to these areas under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and with the help of development partners.
“But we still need to do more,” he said.
Attah, however, called on all Nigerians to contribute their quota to the improvement of their life, saying health is wealth.
He noted that sanitation was yet to be given priority of attention in spite of the huge health problems caused by growing population.
“There are gaps in the sanitation infrastructure, making access to simple facilities like toilets impossible for many people.
“Except in Abuja and some areas of Lagos, there are no sewer systems across communities.’’
The director stated that sanitation has now become the responsibility of individual households.
He, however, stated that the group was working with local and national governments to set standards for water and sanitation systems.
He added that this would promote good sanitation and hygiene to communities and schools.
According to him, no fewer than 63 million people are believed to be without access to safe drinking water, while about 40 million are still defecating in the open.