Nigeria has been ranked second among countries practising open defecation globally, says the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).
Dr. Geoffrey Njoku, Communication Specialist, UNICEF made this known at a two-day media dialogue in Cross River State on Wednesday. The subject matter of the dialogue, “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet”, is aimed at creating awareness to end the habit by 2025.
According to Njoku, the evidence from the 2018 Water sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping survey revealed that 24 per cent of the population, about 47 million people, practise open defecation.
“This campaign is trying to see what we can do not to be in the number one category of open category.”
“There is need to create awareness about Clean Nigeria, Use the Toilet campaign and mobilise resources to sustain the national movement.”
Njoku has called for behavioural change and policy reform through community dialogue, advocacy and engagement with policymakers. He added that it is important to drive cross-sector collaborations, principally with the private sector to improve investment in the sanitation sector.
The Nigerian government, in 2018, launched a national campaign to guide the country towards becoming Open Defecation Free.
Nigeria is second to India in open defecation.