The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised concern over the high rate of open defecation in Nigeria, IgbereTV reports.
The Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Dr brahim Conteh, said at a “One -day media dialogue’’ in Enugu on Friday that the rate had remained high, in spite of the concerted efforts by stakeholders to reduce it.
The event was organised by the organisation in collaboration with Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State to commemorate the 2021 World Water Day.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “Valuing Toilets”.
Conteh said: “According to new figures soon to be released on Nigerians’ access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services, the rate of open defecation has remained steady at 23 per cent.
“As many as 46 million Nigerians still defecate in the open.”
He named the states with the highest rates of open defecation as Kwara, Plateau and Ebonyi, while Abia, Zamfara and Akwa Ibom had the lowest rates.
Conte, however, said there had been some progress toward ending the phenomenon with 71 of the 774 local government areas in the country declared open-defecation-free.
