Ahead the March 22 World Water Day, current statistics places Nigeria as a country where 69 million people still lack access to clean drinking water.
In a study conducted by stakeholders drawn from the water sector, Nigeria was ranked as leading the pack in open defecation in Africa, while coming second on the global scale, beating India by a slight margin.
These challenges were brought to the fore on Tuesday in Abuja, even as concerted efforts had been initiated to change the tide by 2030.
According to experts assembled by the Global Citizen Initiative in conjunction with Procter and Gamble, a multinational firm with subsidiaries in Africa, funding gaps was at the core of factors militating against progress in the sector.
While the stakeholders gathered to discuss the issue, India, which currently ranks first among the countries practising open defecation worldwide, was expected to be certified open defecation free by October this year, while Nigeria would assume global prominence as the first.
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“On issues of clean and potable water, it is appalling to know that 69 million Nigerians are still lacking access to a basic thing as water.
“Besides, Nigeria is the worst in terms of open defecation. It is highly deficient in sanitation facilities, just trailing next to India owing to population growth.
“All these have been compounded by inadequate funding of the sector. Sadly, the country is not doing enough to change the tide,” they submitted.
At a brief panel session, Teslim Giwa, representative of Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), explained that government ought to work at increasing budgetary allocation to the sector by at least 1.7 percent.
Also, he said government must leverage on modern technology to provide more water for human needs, including increasing awareness campaigns on the implication of consuming unhygienic water.
