Sanitation facilities in Nigeria

In previous posts, I have briefly touched on the concept of peri-urban centres and the importance of these growing secondary cities on the possible improvements in water and sanitation facilities. I want to continue these linkages and the narrowing of my analysis, by focusing my next posts on the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, and specifically how community based approaches can improve sanitation facilities such as excreta disposal.

"Nigeria's total and urban population is such a significant element of sub-Saharan Africa's - in the same way that China's population is for the world - that analysis of these urban phenomena for the region as a whole requires that efforts are made to asses what has been happening in Nigeria's towns" (Potts, 2012: 1390)

Infact, in Nigeria, over 100 million people lacked access to improved sanitation in 2011 (UNICEF, 2011: V).

I will focus on the the role of sanitation, of which the disposal of human faeces, plays an often underestimated role in preventing endemic diseases such as diarrohea. Esrey et al., (1985) found that the median benefits of service improvements in reducing diarrhoea morbidity were 25% from improved water availability and 22% from improved excreta disposal, and 16% from water quality improvements (Tumwine et al., 2002: 751) Additionally, "while water quality reduced the incidence of dracunculiasis, its role in in diarrhoeal disease control was less important than that of sanitation of hygiene" (Esrey et al., 1991: 609). Therefore, improved excreta disposal is not only a short term individual solution, but a solution that can have health benefits to the community as a whole.

In Nigeria today, "more people are without access to toilets today than were in 1990" (Water Aid, 2015). Despite being Sub-Saharan Africa's largest economy, rapid population growth has fallen on stagnant facilities and modernisation, resulting in a plunge in the proportion of people with access to a toilet - 71% of people now live without household sanitation (i.e a household loo) compared to 62% 25 years ago (Water Aid, 2015). Additionally, over 49million people practice OD in Nigeria, and the effects of this "falls disproportionately on children and women", with 194,400 children under five years old dying in Nigeria as a result of diarrohoeal disease.

Additionally, in Nigeria, studies evaluating water quality found "very little evidence that water quality differs between rural and urban Nigeria...but rather that the mix of source types in rural and urban areas is the driving force behind disparities"" (Christenson et. al., 2014: 307). As a result, "better access to sanitation facilities... and a more informed public  with access to disinfectants could mean that those in urban and peri-urban areas are at lower risk" (Christenson et. al., 2014: 302).

Such studies highlight the importance of inclusive community approaches that address problems locally rather than a one-size fits all approach that in fact contribute to the rural urban dichotomy of water resources and sanitation facilities.

Reference List:

Christenson, E., R. Bain, J. Wright, S. Aondoakaa, R. Hossain and J. Bartram (2014) 'Examining the influence of urban definition when assessing relative safety of drinking-water in Nigeria', Science of the Total Environment, 490, 301-312

Esrey, S.A., J.B. Potash, L. Roberts and C. Shiff (1991) 'Effects of improved water supply and sanitation on ascariasis, diarrhoea, dracunculiasis, hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, and trachoma', Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, 69, 5, 609-621

Potts, D. (2012) 'Challenging the Myths of Urban Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Evidence from Nigeria', World Development, 40, 7, 1382-1393 

Tumwine, J.K., J. Thompson, M. Katua-Katua, M. Mujwajuzi, N. Johnstone, E. Wood and I. Porras (2002) 'Diarrhoea and the effects of different water sources, sanitation and hygiene behaviour in East Africa', Tropical Medicine and International Health, 7, 9, 750-756

UNICEF (2011) 'Community Led Total Sanitation in Nigeria', 1-69, Prepared for UNICEF and UK Aid

Water Aid (2015) 'Seven things you probably didn't know about the state of the world's toilets' (WWW; http://www.wateraid.org/uk/news/news/seven-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-state-of-the-worlds-toilets; 02 November 2015)