On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) urged States in Southwestern Nigeria to intensify efforts to eradicate open defection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on sanitation in 2030.
This appeal was made at Ilaji Resort and Hotel, Ibadan, Oyo State, by UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) specialist, during a two-day media interaction, bordering on expediting actions to upgrade urban Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Nigeria, organized by the Oyo State Ministry of Information in synergy with UNICEF.
During the media engagement, which attracted participants from six states, including Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Lagos, Oyo and Edo States, they maintained that a Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) initiative is the best approach to ensuring objective access to safe sanitation services for residents in urban areas and informal settlements.
The Specialist, while addressing the participants, stated that “CWIS is a strategy for all and not focused on a particular section of the community but on all strata of the urban environment,” he explained. “It looks at the existing capacities, people’s settlements, and defines what should be done in each area according to its needs.“Funds are available within the system, from constructing facilities, evacuating septic tanks, to transporting and safely disposing of waste. If properly coordinated, the private sector can invest confidently, knowing people will pay for these essential services,” he explained.
He further noted that the strategy will ensure cooperation among stakeholders, put an end to role conflicts, and consolidate coordination within the sanitation sector. “When stakeholders sit together to plan, responsibilities are clearly defined. There’s no what is expected of them,” he said.
The UNICEF Specialist also applauded Jigawa and Katsina States for completely eradicating open defecation, describing them as models for other states. Nonetheless, he expressed deep concerns over the region lagging in becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF). “So far, only two Local Government Areas in Ogun State have been declared open defecation-free. Apart from these, no other LGA in the South-West has reached that milestone,” he lamented. “This calls for intervention across the region if we are to meet the national and global sanitation targets.”
He reiterated UNICEF’s commitment to supporting state governments and local authorities in developing sustainable sanitation systems that improve health, dignity, and the environment for all Nigerians.
The Advocacy, Media, and Communication Officer, Blessing Ejiofor, called on journalists to use their platforms to advocate for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) to be acknowledged and protected as a basic human right for everyone.
