47 million Nigerians still defecate in the open – Report
Nigeria may not meet 2030 global target for ending practice – UNICEF
The burden of diseases in Nigeria is no doubt compounded by poor sanitation and hygiene practices amid inadequate water supply. Based on available records , Nigeria is constantly faced with different disease outbreaks annually which claim many lives as a lot of the people lack access to clean water, modern toilets and good hygiene practices, especially those in rural setting.
Currently, the country is battling with Lassa fever outbreak and according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control , over 83 deaths have been recorded since the onset of the 2019 outbreak with some 381 people confirmed positive as at February 24 this year. Apart from Lassa fever outbreak, deaths recorded from the outbreaks of cholera and diarrhoea in the country every year are alarming and worrisome. On cholera alone, the NCDC said, “As at October 29, 2018, a total of 42,466 suspected cases including 830 deaths were reported from 20 states.”
Experts have blamed the incessant outbreaks of these diseases on poor sanitation , indiscriminate dumping of refuse and unhygienic practices like open defecation. Moreover, human excreta have been implicated in the transmission of many infectious diseases including cholera, typhoid, infectious hepatitis, polio, cryptosporidiosis, and ascariasis. Additionally, undernutrition, pneumonia, worm infestations, are also associated with unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Sadly, despite regular outbreaks of these diseases and the number of deaths recorded each year , many Nigerians still practice open defecation making the country rank second amongst all nations in the world still with the awful practice.
What goes on in Oshodi under bridge in Lagos State shows that Nigeria is far from attaining Open Defecation- Free Status by 2030 as many of those residing and selling under the bridge defecate in the open owing to lack of access to free toilet facilities.
No space is spared along the railway line for those who are familiar with Oshodi as refuse and faeces are littered everywhere. The poor sanitary condition in the area notwithstanding, the construction going on there, is no doubt a classic example of what goes on under most bridges in the country.
Walking along the railway line towards Mushin or Bolade Oshodi Bus Stop , one could see piles of garbage mixed with faeces competing with vehicles and pedestrians. Yet, food vendors are making their money, not minding the environment and its health implications including those who patronise them under such filthy surroundings.
One of the food vendors who simply identified herself as Iya Amala, told The Point that she would not stop her business because some people decided to mess up the environment, neither would she stop attending to her customers .
“ I agree that the environment is quite dirty and unpleasant . But I have to sell my market to take care of my children. What I do is that I sweep around my corner . But the stench from the faeces littered in the area is a concern to all of us selling under this bridge”, she said.
Another food vendor who spoke on condition of anonymity blamed the dirty environment on activities of area boys and lack of access to free toilet facilities in the area.
She said, “All these area boys that you see around are the ones defecating in this place. They do it anywhere they see a heap of refuse because they don’t want to pay N50 to use public toilet. We have public toilet in Oshodi, but it costs N50 to use it. For those who do not have the money, they defecate in the open particularly places that have heaps of refuse .
She added, “ Apart from polluting the environment , the faeces ,most times, attracts a lot of flies to our shops.”
Open defecation is defined by UNICEF as the practice of people going out “in fields, bushes, forests, open bodies of water or other open spaces, rather than using the toilet to defecate.”
According to the United Nations agency, although common in India, where 521 million people or nearly half the country’s population, are involved, Nigeria is one of the top three countries in the world whose citizens are steeped in the practice.
A commercial bus driver in the area, Mr James Ibeawuchi, who was spotted enjoying his meal by our correspondent ,said he was aware of the ongoing open defecation in the area, but wished that those responsible would have a change of attitude.
He, however, said, “ I came to Lagos to make money. So I don’t allow the way some people are messing up the place to distract me. I know very well that the environment is too bad but I will not starve myself because of it . Man must survive. ”
According to the 2018 National Outcome Routine Mapping Report, 47 million Nigerians defecate in the open while the country loses N455 billion (US$ 1.3b) annually due to poor sanitation.
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2017 reports reveal that 28.5 per cent of the Nigerian population practise open defecation, while 110 million citizens lack access to improved sanitation.
This, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, also confirmed recently, saying the country today still has significant challenges of access to adequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene,
Though the country has abysmal sanitation situation, stakeholders in the health sector are calling on the Federal Government to change the narrative by addressing identified factors responsible for the awkward practice. For people to stop open defecation practice , they are asking the government to prioritise access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
Insisting that the practice of open defecation calls for concern in Nigeria, the stakeholders reminded the government that sanitation remains the first line of defense against communicable diseases and epidemics of infectious diseases such as influenza, typhoid, cholera, and more.
A medical personnel, Mr Daniel Nnaemeka, said government could change the story of open defecation practice in Nigeria by ensuring sustained awareness creation across the country especially in rural areas and urban slums.
Nnaemeka is also requesting the government to check factors aiding the unpleasant practice such as poverty and lack of access to toilet facilities.
“ It is important that communities are properly informed to realise the negative impact of open defecation on health and well-being. Like the situation you narrated going on in Oshodi under bridge, if the toilet facilities there were made free of charge, the area boys there will certainly use them. But in a situation where they have to pay before using the facilities and most of them are not working, automatically they will find an alternative which is open defecation So, government should try and make these facilities available and free”, he said.
Another expert and top UNICEF official, Zaid Jurji, who is worried that Nigeria may not even meet the global target of 2030 for ending open defecation , said the practice has been implicated in many cases of cholera, diarrhoea, hepatitis, polio and typhoid fever, among other diseases in the country.
Jurji revealed that over 88 per cent of diarrhoea in children, the fastest killer of children under the age of five in Nigeria, was caused by open defecation.
Listing the way forward, he said: “To effectively tackle this appalling culture, there should be a concerted effort to provide toilets in public places so that people would not have recourse to relieving themselves in the open. Town planners and other government agencies in charge of the environment have to ensure that toilets are not just an afterthought when putting up a structure. Water and sanitation are essential elements in containing the unbridled practice of open defecation.”
Also, another medical practitioner, Dr Towoju Olumunyiwa, said open defecation was polluting the soil, water resources, environment and the air.
“People defecate on the walk ways, under the bridges and at any available space. That gives room for the spread of diseases; when people defecate in the open, there is every tendency that flies will feed on these faeces. And the flies perch on food, which may later be eaten by another person. “The germs in the faeces are passed onto the food,” he said
He said open defecation had become a worrisome practice in Nigeria, urging Nigerians to have a change of attitude by embracing good hygiene practices.
