More Nigerians ‘ve access to cell phones than toilets – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has declared that “more people have access to cell phones in Nigeria than they have access to toilets.” Quoting a 2018 report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Chief of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), UNICEF, Zaid Jurji, said “140 million people in Nigeria have cell phones, while only 97 million have access to improved sanitation.” Jurji, who spoke at a two-day media dialogue on European Union Niger Delta Water Project, in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, yesterday, noted that the sanitation sector in Nigeria is severely under resourced, as sanitation is only 19 per cent of WASH budget.
He further said that only 39 per cent Nigerians used an improved toilet that “is not shared by more than one household.” “Over 46 million persons still practise open defaecation on Nigeria, with 32 per cent living in rural areas and 12 per cent in urban areas.
This figure is far from the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDGs) target by 2030, which aims at achieving universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene,” he said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who was represented by the principal information officer of the ministry, Toye Falayi, urged media partners to sustain the advocacy for improve water sanitation and hygiene.

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