182 Million Nigerians Lack Access To Basic Water, Sanitation, Hygiene-NBS Report 

Only nine per cent, representing about 18 million of Nigeria’s entire population of about 200 million, currently have access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services, a report released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics has revealed.

The Report stated that while 182 million of Nigeria’s population do not have access to basic water, and sanitation, hygiene services; 46 million of them practice open defecation.

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It said 16 per cent households have access to basic hygiene services, while 14 per cent schools have basic water and sanitation services

Inadequate access to quality water, sanitation and hygiene services continues to plague Nigeria, contributing to a range of negative health, socioeconomic and environmental consequences.

The Report stated, “The overall status of the WASH sector in Nigeria is low. Only nine per cent of the population have access to complete basic WASH services. Those living in rural areas are two times more disadvantaged than those in urban areas.”

According to the Report, disparities were observed in the use of combined basic water and sanitation services across different areas of residence, geopolitical zones and socioeconomic lines.

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It said the most significant disparities are related to wealth, adding that the wealthiest households are more than eight times more likely to access basic water and sanitation services than the poorest households.

The Report stated that fewer people have access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services in 2019 than in 2018.

Specifically, it said 21 million people have access to water and sanitation services in 2018 as against the 18 million people with access in the 2019 fiscal period.

“Access to different combinations of basic water, sanitation and hygiene also show an overall low WASH status in Nigeria with WASH services more accessible to people living in urban areas and those among the richest wealth quintile,” it added.

The Report stated that people living in Lagos are three times more likely to use basic water supply services than those living in Taraba.

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On the characteristics of water supply system in Nigeria, the Report stated that there are 2.04 million water facilities in Nigeria.

It noted that 70 per cent are self-supplied, adding that one out of five have provisions for persons living with disabilities while two-thirds are borehole

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