By Abimbola Abdullahi

No fewer than 100 million Nigerians are still suffering from poor water sanitation methodologies, the Federal Government has said.

   The Minister for Water Resources of Nigeria, Suleiman Adamu, who disclosed this at the launching of African Sanitation Policy Guidelines, by African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW),  said the Federal government is working with state governments to adopt the new policy guideline to improve sanitation of its citizenry.

  Adamu said that “Nigeria was faced with the task of providing access to at least basic sanitation for more than 100 million Nigerians and the ASPG offers a huge opportunity to accelerate that.

   He added that, “Nigeria will use the ASPG to upgrade its Water Sanitation policy of 2004 and work closely with the 36 state governments so that each of them uses the ASPG to ensure that their policies are context-specific, aligned with the Federal level policy and standard, and adapted to the ASPG”.

   The launch, which took place virtually because of the COVID-19 measures in place across the world, brought together ministers responsible for water, sanitation and hygiene across Africa, the African Union, the United Nations agencies, donors, water and sanitation specialists across the continent.

   The ASPG guidelines provide the steps towards developing a new policy or updating a sanitation policy and also what is needed in a comprehensive sanitation policy.

   The Executive Director of UNICEF Henrietta Fore said that UNICEF is committed to working closely with these communities and with African Ministers to translate (the ASPG) into safe sanitation in more African communities.

   “To start we will roll out the guidelines in two countries this year with more countries and regions to follow next year,” she added.

   Speaking at the launch, the president of AMCOW who is also Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Carl Gustav Schlettwein, said Namibia was committed to creating a standalone sanitation policy using the ASPG and encouraged other countries to take advantage of the guideline to improve their sanitation policies.

   Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, commended AMCOW for developing the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines.

   “This important work will provide African governments with guidance for enhancing or developing a clear and comprehensive sanitation policy to pave way for large scale national sanitation policies,” she added.

   Director General of the World health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “The African Ministers’ Council on Water is working to accelerate high quality investment and leadership in sanitation through the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines which draw on the principle outlined in the WHO for sanitation and health.

   “We look forward to working with AMCOW and African governments to provide sanitation for all. History shows that societies that invested in sanitary improvements became healthier, wealthier and more powerful, but the lack of sanitation makes a country more vulnerable to illness and epidemics which grounds the whole society,” he said.

   Ministers in charge of sanitation and hygiene from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroun, Egypt, Senegal and South Africa all commended AMCOW for developing the ASPG and promised to use it to improve the enabling environment for sanitation in their countries.

By Abimbola Abdullahi

No fewer than 100 million Nigerians are still suffering from poor water sanitation methodologies, the Federal Government has said.

   The Minister for Water Resources of Nigeria, Suleiman Adamu, who disclosed this at the launching of African Sanitation Policy Guidelines, by African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW),  said the Federal government is working with state governments to adopt the new policy guideline to improve sanitation of its citizenry.

  Adamu said that “Nigeria was faced with the task of providing access to at least basic sanitation for more than 100 million Nigerians and the ASPG offers a huge opportunity to accelerate that.

   He added that, “Nigeria will use the ASPG to upgrade its Water Sanitation policy of 2004 and work closely with the 36 state governments so that each of them uses the ASPG to ensure that their policies are context-specific, aligned with the Federal level policy and standard, and adapted to the ASPG”.

   The launch, which took place virtually because of the COVID-19 measures in place across the world, brought together ministers responsible for water, sanitation and hygiene across Africa, the African Union, the United Nations agencies, donors, water and sanitation specialists across the continent.

   The ASPG guidelines provide the steps towards developing a new policy or updating a sanitation policy and also what is needed in a comprehensive sanitation policy.

   The Executive Director of UNICEF Henrietta Fore said that UNICEF is committed to working closely with these communities and with African Ministers to translate (the ASPG) into safe sanitation in more African communities.

   “To start we will roll out the guidelines in two countries this year with more countries and regions to follow next year,” she added.

   Speaking at the launch, the president of AMCOW who is also Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Carl Gustav Schlettwein, said Namibia was committed to creating a standalone sanitation policy using the ASPG and encouraged other countries to take advantage of the guideline to improve their sanitation policies.

   Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, commended AMCOW for developing the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines.

   “This important work will provide African governments with guidance for enhancing or developing a clear and comprehensive sanitation policy to pave way for large scale national sanitation policies,” she added.

   Director General of the World health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “The African Ministers’ Council on Water is working to accelerate high quality investment and leadership in sanitation through the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines which draw on the principle outlined in the WHO for sanitation and health.

   “We look forward to working with AMCOW and African governments to provide sanitation for all. History shows that societies that invested in sanitary improvements became healthier, wealthier and more powerful, but the lack of sanitation makes a country more vulnerable to illness and epidemics which grounds the whole society,” he said.

   Ministers in charge of sanitation and hygiene from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroun, Egypt, Senegal and South Africa all commended AMCOW for developing the ASPG and promised to use it to improve the enabling environment for sanitation in their countries.