Speaking during a two-day media dialogue on European Union (EU) Niger Delta Water Project in Port Harcourt, River State, UNICEF’s Chief of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Zaid Jurji, said 140 million people in Nigeria have cell phones, while only 97 million have access to improved sanitation.Quoting a 2018 report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the UNICEF Chief of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) noted that the sanitation sector in Nigeria is severely under resourced, as sanitation is only 19 per cent of WASH budget.
According to him, only 39 per cent Nigerians use an improved toilet that is not shared by more than one household. He added that 46 million people still practice open defecation on Nigeria, with 32 percent living in rural areas and 12 percent in urban areas.
Zaid concluded his speech, by stating that the figure is far from the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG) target by 2030, which aims at achieving universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.
At the event, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was represented by the principal information officer of the ministry, Toye Falayi, urged media partners to sustain advocacy for improve water sanitation and hygiene.
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