- The Officer in Charge, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Clement Adams, spoke Wednesday at a media dialogue in Azare, Bauchi State, on World Toilet Day
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has lamented that Nigeria still has a shortfall of 669 local government areas to join the League of open defecation-free countries.
The humanitarian body also said it might be impossible to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030 if the government and relevant stakeholders in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, do not mobilise to ensure the 774 LGAs of the country become open-defecation-free.
The Officer in Charge, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Clement Adams, spoke Wednesday at a media dialogue in Azare, Bauchi State, on World Toilet Day.
He also congratulated the people of Katagum LGA in Bauchi state for becoming the 105th local government area in the country to be certified open defecation-free.
According to him, “the majority of the diseases that afflict people can be traced to poor sanitation.
“Not having enough toilets is endangering both humans and the environment and the statistics we have is not encouraging.
“Jigawa is the only state in the country that has all its local government areas certified open defecation free but we believe other states can copy from them to ensure the country achieves the Sustainable Development Goal Number 6 by 2030.
“We need more partnership with relevant stakeholders and governments must ensure all hands are on deck to bridge the gap created by the shortfall.”
Earlier, Bauchi State Commissioner for Water for Water Resources, Alh. Nuhu Zaki expressed the state government’s commitment to attain an open defecation-free status across all the 20 LGAs by 2025.
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