No less than 72 per cent of schools in Bauchi State lack essential water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities for students and teachers.
The chairman of the Bauchi State Network of Civil Society Organisations, Jinjiri Garba, made the revelations on Friday at a press conference organised to mark 2023 World Toilet Day.
He added that 93 per cent of healthcare facilities and 97 per cent of public places in the state face a similar deficit in WASH facilities.
Garba emphasised the pressing need to address these challenges, highlighting the efforts of WaterAid and its partners to create water-safe communities and catalyse behavioural changes for open defecation-free status by 2025.
Despite progress, he noted that Nigeria is far from achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6, with millions lacking basic water supply and sanitation services.
According to him, WaterAid’s ongoing projects aim to provide clean water and hygiene education to communities in Bauchi State, addressing the broader impact on health, education, and various sectors.
Garba, while quoting statistics from WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping, 2021, added that 97 per cent of public places across Bauchi State do not have basic WASH facilities for the general public’s use.
He said part of the WASH initiatives includes drilling water facilities, community-led sanitation programmes, and training hygiene promoters to contribute to the state’s goal of eliminating open defecation by 2025.
Garba urged collective efforts to accelerate progress towards SDG 6 and break taboos surrounding sanitation issues.
“Sadly, 21 per cent of the Bauchi State population still practices open defecation, 72 per cent of the total number of schools, 93 per cent of the total number of healthcare facilities, and 97 per cent of public places do not have access to WASH facilities.
“Despite evidence of the effectiveness of good hygiene practice as the first line of prevention of infectious diseases, about 60 million people in Nigeria lack access to basic water supply, 167 million people lack basic hand washing facilities, and 48 million still practice open defecation.
“Globally, 70,000 children under 5 die every year from diseases caused by a lack of clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene services. These statistics remain alarming as Nigeria remains distant from achieving the SDG 6 goal of ensuring universal access to basic lifesaving services,” he said.
World Toilet Day: 21% of Bauchi population practices open defecation