The Federal Government has raised concerns over Nigeria’s poor sanitation situation, revealing that access to improved toilet facilities remains below 36 per cent, with millions of Nigerians exposed to preventable diseases and environmental hazards.
The government warned that inadequate toilet facilities in schools, markets, motor parks and residential communities were worsening open defecation, water contamination and the spread of sanitation-related diseases, including cholera and typhoid.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, raised the concerns at a ministerial press briefing in Abuja ahead of the 2026 World Toilet Day celebration scheduled for November 19.
Represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mrs Omotunde Adeola, the minister described poor sanitation as a major public health threat, environmental hazard and violation of human dignity.
He said the situation disproportionately affected women, girls, children, older persons and people living with disabilities, who face greater difficulties accessing safe, private and functional toilet facilities.
Lawal lamented that the absence of adequate sanitation infrastructure in public places and communities continued to encourage open defecation, contaminate food and water sources and expose citizens to preventable diseases.
He stressed that no child should be denied access to education because of inadequate toilet facilities, while women and girls should not have to compromise their safety and dignity due to poor sanitation.
The minister further disclosed that approximately 4.5 billion people globally lacked access to safely managed sanitation, while 892 million people still practised open defecation.
On government interventions, Lawal said the ministry was implementing programmes, including the Clean and Green Programme and the Community-Based Waste Management and Open Defecation Control Programme, to improve sanitation standards across the country.
He added that other measures included training Environmental Health Officers on faecal sludge management and toilet design, integrating sanitation into climate adaptation and circular economy initiatives, and partnering with private sector operators to expand access to environmentally friendly sanitation facilities.
The minister also announced plans to convene a National Dialogue on Faecal Sludge Management involving seven selected states across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory to examine existing challenges and develop practical recommendations.
He urged state and local governments to strengthen wastewater and faecal sludge management systems, while calling on private investors to support affordable sanitation technologies and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mallam Salihu Aminu Usman, represented by the Deputy Director and Head of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Rita Okea, said the lack of safe, private and accessible toilets continued to undermine the health, dignity and equal opportunities of women and girls.
He called for stronger collaboration among governments, development partners, civil society organisations, private sector operators and communities to accelerate efforts to end open defecation and achieve universal access to safe and inclusive sanitation.
