The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on the Nigerian government to introduce a national policy mandating all public places, including filling stations, markets, and parks, to provide clean, accessible toilets as part of renewed efforts to eliminate open defecation across the country.
Despite years of campaigns and commitments, Nigeria remains one of the countries still grappling with open defecation, a practice that continues to endanger public health and cost the economy billions annually. Millions of Nigerians still lack access to basic sanitation facilities, leaving communities vulnerable to preventable diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhoea.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day media dialogue on Accelerating Actions to Improve Urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Nigeria, UNICEF’s Director of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Mr. Monday Johnson, expressed concern over the absence of basic sanitation facilities in public spaces, which he described as a major driver of open defecation.
“One of the things the government can do to reduce open defecation is to ensure that all filling stations have clean and accessible sanitation facilities,” Johnson said. “They should enact policies on this and enforce them. The same should be done in markets where people spend long hours each day. Make these facilities available everywhere — they can even serve as income-generating ventures. These things are not happening, and that is why we have open defecation.”
He explained that improving sanitation and hygiene behaviour is not just a health necessity but a crucial pathway to poverty reduction. “Good sanitation and hygiene behaviour will reduce poverty. When people contract diseases due to lack of hygiene, they cannot attend to their businesses,” he added.
To tackle the crisis, Johnson recommended that the government develop and fund full-chain urban sanitation service models covering containment, emptying, transport, treatment, and reuse. He also urged the creation of a dedicated Urban Sanitation Coordination Unit under the Ministry of Environment or Urban Planning to ensure budgeting and accountability for sanitation.
He further advised that urban sanitation be mainstreamed into state-level development planning and performance contracts with local government areas, while statewide training programmes should be implemented to build the capacity of sanitation officers, masons, desludging operators, and private sector players. Johnson also called for a clear regulatory framework to encourage private sector participation and investment, and the urgent approval of the draft state WASH policy.
The dialogue, organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Information in collaboration with UNICEF, took place at Ilaji Resorts Centre in Ona-Ara Local Government Area of Oyo State.
UNICEF’s Communication Officer, Mrs. Blessing Ejiofor, reiterated that access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is a fundamental human right, calling for stronger government commitment and citizen participation. “Ensuring everyone has access to safe water, toilets, and hygiene facilities is not a privilege, it’s a right. We must work together to make sure no one is left behind,” she said.
In his goodwill message, Adegoke Ayodele, Director of Community Mobilisation and Hygiene Education at the Oyo State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (OYORUWASSA), highlighted the state’s progress in implementing WASH programmes. He described Oyo’s efforts as “success stories that must be sustained and scaled up.”
Also speaking at the event, Olori Rebecca Obisesan, who represented the Paramount Ruler of Araromi Aperin, Oba Mudashiru Obisena, recounted how the community curbed open defecation through local intervention.
She noted that, following health campaigns four years ago, the community built at least 22 toilets in and around the palace, with a directive that every household must have an in-built toilet.
According to UNICEF’s latest assessment, Nigeria’s overall WASH sector performance remains alarmingly low. Only 10 percent of the population currently has access to complete basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services, with rural residents three times more disadvantaged than their urban counterparts.
As UNICEF and other partners continue to push for change, the message is clear: ending open defecation in Nigeria will require not just awareness, but firm policies, community engagement, and sustained investment in the country’s sanitation infrastructure.
