The United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) says Nigeria is not yet on track on the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on improved access to portable water and sanitation.
Unicef (WASH) specialist Rivers Field Martha Hokonya stated this in a good will message during the just concluded 2017 “World Water Day” celebration in Port Harcourt.
According to her, Rivers State is lacking behind as 64 percent of the citizenry do not have access to safe and portable water.
She said the government and donor partners have a lot to do to improve the situation.
“More still needs to be done by government and partner’s together inorder to meet up with the Sustainable Development target of 6.1 percent which is the universal minimum standard of water for all by 2030.
Hokonya whose address was read by Unicef (WASH) consultant Theodora Igboaruku however regretted that the poor bear the greatest brunt of this lack of access to safe water and sanitation.
“Likewise, women and girls who carry the biggest burden, of collecting water often have to walk over long distances in search of this precious resource also lose their productive time. She further said this leads to poor education outcomes for young girls due to reduced time for studying and school attendance.
“In insecure enviuronments, they are also faced with risks to violence, sexual abuse, exploitation and other forms of attack” she said.
She said that this year’s theme “Why Waste Water” is about reducing and reusing water.
According to her, there is also the need to reduce pollution. Eliminate dumping and minimising release of hazardous chemicals and materials, into water basins lakes and Rivers.
The Unicef specialist said that there are so much opportunities in the exploitation of waste.
“The costs of waste water management are greatly outweighed by the benefits to human health, economic development and environmental sustainability providing near business opportunities and creating more green jobs “she said.