The United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) says Nigeria is ranked third among the countries of the world where people still practise open defecation.
Mr Zaid Jurji, the UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Nigeria, made this known on Wednesday in Katsina when he paid courtesy visit to Gov. Aminu Masari.
“The situation of sanitation in Nigeria is alarming. Nigeria is third worldwide when it comes to open defaecation, one-third of the population practise it.“Nigeria is a heavy weight country, not only in Africa, but worldwide.
“It does not go well to know that open defaecation is being practised widely in various communities in a strong country like Nigeria.
“So, we need to do something about that beyond the traditional approach to improve on the situation,’’ he said.“We believe that Nigerians listen to their leaders, and may be a couple of statements from you, on many occasions as appropriate, will start making a difference.“Our role to is see that happening, but changing people’s attitudes by making them to know that open defaecation is something Nigerians cannot stand anymore,’’ he said.
Jurji said that eradicating open defaecation would also assist to improve sanitation, being one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He stressed the need for every household to ensure installation of a standard pit latrine.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
