FG Decries Persistent Menace of Open Defecation

The federal government on Wednesday decried the persistent open defecation menace in Nigeria and some other parts of the world despite efforts to curb the practice.

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, who expressed the government displeasure at a press briefing in Abuja ahead of the National Environmental Sanitation Day, said it was pathetic that over four billion people in the world continue to live without safe toilets while 800 million still practice open defecation.

Represented by the Director of Special Duties, Mohammed Yakubu, Odusote noted that the Nigerian Government would leave no stone unturned in tackling sanitation issues in federal government schools, ministries, parastatals, agencies, military and paramilitary barracks, public places such as petrol stations, abattoirs, motor parks, markets and regulated food premises such as hotels, eateries among others.

According to Yakubu, "Open defecation is a problem that has been with us over a long time, and our several approaches and efforts to address this have not provided the desired results. You will recall that only about six month ago, President Muhammadu Buhari declared a state of emergency on water sanitation and hygiene with emphasis on ending open defecation.

 

"Access to sanitary facilities remains a mirage to a vast majority of our citizenry. Today, 4.5 billion people of the world live without safe toilets and 892 million people still practice open defecation; hence many people still use the bush and water bodies as their regular means for excreta disposal.”

He, however, warned Nigerians to desist from open defecation, saying undesirable consequences of poor excreta disposal leads to persistently high rate of diarrhea which is the second cause of high morbidity and mortality among children under the age of five.