UNICEF said the poor
and vulnerable group
bear the greatest brunt
of this lack of access to
water and sanitation.
The United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
has said about 70 million
people do not have access
to safe water in Nigeria and
110 million lack access to
improved sanitation.
The agency said in a
statement in Abuja on
Friday, March 20, to
commemorate this year’s
World Water Day, with
theme, ‘Water and
Sustainable Development.’
According to the agency’s
Communications Specialist,
Media and External
Relations, Geoffrey
Njoku, Nigeria is currently
not on the path to attaining
water and sanitation targets
of the Millennium
Development Goals.
Njoku said the poor and
vulnerable group “bears the
greatest brunt of this lack of
access to water and
sanitation.” He said about 2.3
billion people worldwide have
gained access to improved
sources of drinking water
since 1990.
According to the statement,
the agency’s Communications
Specialist, Media and
External Relations, Geoffrey
Njoku, in commemoration of
this year’s World Water Day,
with the theme, ‘Water and
Sustainable Development’,
said the poor and vulnerable
group “bear the greatest
brunt of this lack of access
to water and sanitation.”
According to him, about 2.3
billion people worldwide have
gained access to improved
sources of drinking water
since 1990.
“In the case of sanitation,
nearly 2.5 billion people
worldwide still do not have
adequate toilets and among
them one billion defecate in
the open. With some 70
million people without access
to safe water and over 110
million people without access
to improved sanitation,
Nigeria is currently not on-
track with regard to its
attainment of Water and
Sanitation targets,” Njoku
said.
He added; “UNICEF estimates
that in Africa alone, people
spend 40 billion hours every
year just walking to collect
water. For children, lack of
access to safe water can be
tragic. On the average,
nearly 1,000 of them die
globally every day from
diarrhea, linked to unsafe
drinking water, poor
sanitation, or poor hygiene.
