The Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, has shared some success stories about Nigeria’s efforts to provide basic water and adequate sanitation for its citizens.
Adamu made this known while delivering Nigeria’s statement at a plenary session at the ongoing 2023 UN Water Conference on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in New York.
The UN Water Conference, which opened on Wednesday, is taking place as this vital natural resource is being depleted, polluted and mismanaged.
The minister told the gathering that, within the last seven years, the Nigerian Government had developed a National Action Plan for revitalisation of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector.
He said the Plan, alongside the declaration of a “State of Emergency” on the Sector by President Muhammadu Buhari, was a clear demonstration of political commitment at the highest level.
“In relation to this, we initiated various actions to achieve the much-desired aspiration of meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 6 targets, which include the following.
“The ‘Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH)’ Programme, a national collaborative instrument towards improving access to water and sanitation specifically in rural areas.
“The National Roadmap and Programme to End Open Defecation by 2025, tagged ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ Campaign, backed by a Presidential Executive Order is on course.
“Inauguration of the Organised Private Sector in WASH (OPS-WASH) Forum, for effective coordination of private sector participation in the sector.
“Last year, Nigeria, in collaboration with OPS-WASH and the World Toilet Organisation, hosted the 2022 World Toilet Summit with focus on sanitation innovations for economic development,’’ he said.
Adamu said that the Nigerian Government had been building on the gains of the Summit to harness opportunities within the circular sanitation economy in the country.
According to him, the bi-annual WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM) Survey is to monitor progress on the SDG 6 targets.
In addition, the minister said that Nigeria established the WASH Information Management System (WASHIMS), which is a database specific for WASH and integrated into the sector wide National Water Resources Information System (NAWIS).
“The SchoolWASH and HealthWASH programmes, in collaboration with relevant sector Ministries, towards improving access to WASH services in academic and health institutions.
“The YouthWASH programme, aimed at harnessing the vibrancy and creativity of Nigerian youths in advancing national WASH targets, especially towards ending open defecation, was also initiated,’’ he said.
Adamu further said that the Nigerian Government was committed to strengthening systems and ensuring sustainable management of our water resources using national, international and non-governmental collaborative instruments.
He said that Nigeria recently ratified the instrument of Accession to the UN Water Convention.
“We are also in the forefront at pursuing climate resilient approaches in the management of our national and transboundary water resources.
“In this regard, we call on the international community to fully support Nigeria’s quest in saving the Lake Chad from extinction, with the potentially disastrous consequences this would have on the lives of about 40 million people.’’
