The shocking revelation by the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) that over 150, 000 children die annually in Nigeria due to poor sanitation and consumption of unsafe water significantly reveals the vulnerability of many Nigerians to these common human needs. ETTA MICHAEL BISONG examines this problem particularly the Vote4WASH campaign, an initiative design to mobilise and sensitise citizens on how to leverage on their electoral rights to seek for these needs.
Earlier at various High-Level Meetings in 2010 and 2012, the Nigerian Government set out several firm commitments to address the water and sanitation crisis in the country and-committed to increasing access to potable water supply to 75% and 65% for sanitation by 2015. Despite efforts made and huge funding grants received from local and international donors, 63 million Nigerians (39% of the population) are estimated among those still living without access to safe drinking water, and 112 million (69% of the population) without basic sanitation, thereby putting the nation off-track and off-target the MDG water and sanitation targets.
Many excuses have being ascribed as responsible for this insolence specifically the government’s inability to properly define sanitation and its management across the country. Other issues such as low water supply service quality; cost recovery and low tariffs bedevilled by the fact that many water users do not pay their bills are part of the challenges that must be resolve if this environmental epidemic is to be effectively eradicated. Service providers rely mostly on occasional subsidies to cover their operating costs, while investments are mainly financed by foreign donors and fall short of what is needed to achieve a significant increase in access.
Estimates of the investment in water supply and sanitation required to meet these MDG based targets range from US$2.5 billion (MDG Office) to US$4 billion annually (US$1.7 billion for water supply and US$2.3 billion for sanitation—CSO2 costing). Out of the calculated US$2.5 billion annual investment required to meet the MDG targets, only about $550 million is being injected by the Nigerian Government due to limited resources and competing needs, leaving a huge investment gap to achieve these targets.
One example of a community presently experiencing this crisis and its attendant impact in the country is Gutsura. The small village located in Zamfara State and who’s over 3, 500 estimated inhabitants are predominantly farmers continue to loss its agricultural produce to the impact of climate change, while unable to relocate to a better site provided by the government due to improper access to water and sanitation related impediments. In 2012, the residents recounted the loss of about 100 million naira worth of properties including shelter and death of a five year old boy to the flood that ravaged the rural settlement.
Several civil society organisations in efforts to respond to this setback have resorted to various participatory methods. Such approaches are exemplified in the Youth WASH Ambassadors Award initiated by Youth WASH and supported by WaterAid to celebrate individuals from all walks of life, who are dedicated to supporting, promoting and advocating for access to portable drinking water, sustainable sanitation and hygiene services for all across Africa. Being an important component of the Vote4WASH campaign, the exercise is also conceptualised to put pressure on government and the private sector to keep their promises on the water and sanitation goals.
Both organisations determine to mitigate these impacts have concluded plans to bring together major actors involved in this campaign to brainstorm on the best strategy to canvass for this right. The 1-day meeting, which is scheduled to hold in Abuja, is also expected to help participants familiarise with each other, share knowledge on past experiences and chart the way forward on how to mainstream issues and ensure sustainability in the sector. The parley will focus on the various toolkits and their application in the seven pilot states where the programme is implemented namely – Bauchi; Benue, Jigawa; Ekiti, Enugu; Plateau and the federal capital territory to achieve substantial result.
National coordinator of the project, Mr. Nature Obiakor while speaking on the initiative described “Vote4WASH” as an advocacy programme design to strengthen citizens’ engagement on the importance of electoral process, and how it can be use as powerful tool to address sanitation challenges in Nigeria.
‘’Strengthening citizens’ engagement on electioneering processes for increased accountability in water, sanitation and hygiene sector and equitable distribution of inclusive services, is one of the major objectives of Vote4WASH Campaign,’’ Mr. Obiakor said. ’’We are also calling for partnership with various organisations, political parties and aspirants to collaborate in the process for it to produce elected officials who are committed to the promotion of WASH activities.’’
Also commenting on the initiative, Hamzat Lawal said there are only few opportunities for people to demand the provision or development plan of electoral candidates in exchange for votes. The enthusiastic rights campaigner, who is the Communications Advisor of Youth WASH blame the federal government for failing to fulfill previous commitments, noting that Nigeria must provide the needed funds, muster the political will and adhere to the different declarations it signed to boost water supply and access in the country.
‘’Nigeria has not fully achieved any of the twenty six WASH commitments, it voluntarily made in several high level meetings between 2000 and 2012. These commitments made at four high level meetings between 2000-2012: the World summit in Johannesburg 2000, United Nations Assembly, New York in 2010, African Sanitation and Hygiene conference, eThekwini in 2011, and the Sanitation and Water for All meeting in Washington, in 2012; but none of them have been fulfilled by the Nigerian Government.
‘’Every year in this country, 100,000 children under five die directly linked to lack of water, sanitation and hygiene; that is a scandal,’’ Lawal said. “We forget to understand that these are mothers losing a child or children; these are children with names that are dying every day from water related diseases.’’
Country Representative of WaterAid Nigeria, Dr. Michael Ojo during an interview to commemorate the 2014 World Water Day in Abuja, reiterated the need to reverse current statistics of infant deaths arising from diarrhoea and water borne diseases to curb deaths among children.
‘’There is no bigger issue for me than the issue of the crisis of lack of water, sanitation and hygiene in our country today,’’ Dr. Ojo said, adding that – ‘’diarrhoea is the biggest second killer of our young children.’’
Truth-be-told, however, while the accelerating deterioration of global sanitation diseases has its most profound consequences on the vulnerable countries of the world, an environmentally aware and empowered population is potentially the greatest agents of change for long-term protection and stewardship of the earth.
Nigerians still lack awareness on the causes and impact of poor sanitary practices, therefore urgent steps and actions are needed to harmonise the different sectorial sanitation policies into a National Sanitation Policy, including the introduction of more task force groups across the 36 states including the federal capital territory to promote the concept of environmental sanitation and hygiene.
The government need to intensify awareness and include stakeholders to advance the pace and provision of basic sanitation facilities. Awareness on the impacts of unsafe environmental sanitation must be carried out from the policymakers’ to the rural community level to systematically observe, assess more comprehensively the country’s vulnerability to, and design appropriate adaptation strategies to the causes and impacts of poor sanitary practices in the country.
