Speaking at an event yesterday in Idi-Araba Community in Lagos, to mark the World Toilet Day, organised by UNIC in conjunction with the Lagos State Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Reckitt and Benckiter makers of Harpic and other partners, the Director of UNIC, Ronald Kayanja, said open defecation is a big problem in Nigeria leading to diseases and the death of many children in the country.
Kayanja stated that the UN has declared the World Toilet Day to be observed around the world because of the prevalent cases of people who do not have access to clean and safe toilets systems, stressing that poor sanitation has caused a lot of diseases and malnutrition among children.
He explained that in Nigeria, sanitation is a serious challenge as 20 percent of homes do not have toilets, stressing that even when they have toilets, they are not maintained, causing a high level of malnutrition in Nigeria and a lot of diseases such as Diarrhoea, Typhoid, and others. Kayanja said: “Open defecation is a key problem in Nigeria, but I am very confident in Nigeria’s resilience and commitment to tackle this problem. When the issue of Ebola came up, Nigeria fought and defeated Ebola, the same thing they did against polio.
“We are hopeful that by 2025 no Nigeria will practice open defecation and by 2030 every Nigerians should have access to clean water and sanitation. Government at all levels, community leaders and concerned stakeholders should double their efforts to so that no Nigerian continues to practice open defecation by 2025.
“This is the message from United Nation and we are calling on community members to charge their leaders to put in place the infrastructures necessary, and other collaborators the private sectors should contribute their quota to achieve this feat. I am grateful to Reckitt and Benckiter, for their efforts towards this programme and all their products that help us to improve our sanitation.
“We need the support of the private sector and Non Governmental Organisations (NGO), the media and all concerned stakeholders, to help us get the support of our leaders to ensure that our children do not die of diarrhoea. We should work together to ensure that all of us have clean water and sanitation by 2030.”
Also speaking at the event, the Marketing Director Reckitt and Benckiter, Oguzhan Silivrili, said one of the most critical things that should be of health concern to everyone is good toilet, noting that 22 percent of Nigerians do not have access to good toilets, thereby encouraging open defecation “Nigerian is the only country where open defecation is increasing and more 34 percent of Nigerians are using latrines which is not hygiene enough”
Silivrili who assured of their commitment to work together with government agencies and UN to improve the sanitary condition of Nigerians, stated that the company visits one million household yearly to educate them individually about the benefits of clean toilets, “through this process we do our grassroots marketing activities.”
He added that: “We have realised that in the Idi-Araba community, open defecation is very high, therefore we are donating two mobile toilets, we are also donating the product that will keep it hygienic for one year.
“We are also encouraging them to be taking care of these mobile toilets. We are educating and encouraging people so that we can reduce open defecation. The aim is to reduce the open defecation in this community. We are reaching out to 16 different cities in the country.”
In his goodwill message, the Saraki of Idi-Araba, Idris Aminu, commended the Female Muslim Doctors (FMD) and UNIC for their efforts at promoting the hygiene of the community, stating that they are willing to welcome useful initiatives that will promote the health and common good of members of the community.
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