By Joycelyn Ellakeche Adah
About 4.5 billion people worldwide lack safely managed sanitation, while 892 million still practise open defecation, the Federal Government has said, warning that the global sanitation crisis continues to threaten public health, environmental safety and human dignity.
The Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abbas Lawal, disclosed this on Tuesday at a ministerial briefing in Abuja to mark the 2026 World Toilet Day.
Represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mrs Omotunde Adeola, Lawal said Nigeria was also facing a major sanitation challenge, with access to improved sanitation remaining below 36 per cent for the majority of the population, according to the National Demographic and Health Survey.
He said many public places, including markets, motor parks, schools and communities, still lacked adequate and functional toilet facilities, a situation contributing to open defecation, contamination of food and water sources and the spread of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
The minister described sanitation as more than the provision of basic infrastructure, saying it was a public health intervention, an environmental safeguard and a fundamental requirement for human dignity.
He said the consequences of poor sanitation were particularly severe for women, girls, children, older persons and people living with disabilities.
“No child should have to miss school because of inadequate toilet facilities, and no woman or girl should have to compromise her safety and dignity because of the absence of appropriate sanitation facilities,”
The 2026 World Toilet Day theme, “Sanitation and Gender Equality,” with the campaign tagline, “Safe Toilets. Equal Futures,” highlights the importance of safe and secure toilets, access to soap and water, and adequate menstrual hygiene facilities in protecting the health, safety and dignity of women and girls.
Lawal said the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with relevant ministries, state governments and development partners, was implementing programmes to promote safe excreta disposal and improve sanitation nationwide.
The interventions include training Environmental Health Officers in faecal sludge management and toilet design, integrating sanitation into climate adaptation and circular economy initiatives, and implementing the Clean and Green Programme and the Community-Based Waste Management and Open Defecation Control Programme.
The ministry is also partnering with private sector operators to provide environmentally friendly sanitation facilities through public-private arrangements.
As part of the commemoration, the ministry plans a community sensitisation campaign at Kpadna Community, Utako, Abuja, on November 19.
The exercise will engage residents, traders and food vendors on proper sanitation, hand hygiene and safe waste disposal through interactive discussions, health talks and practical demonstrations by Environmental Health Officers.
A National Dialogue on Faecal Sludge Management is also scheduled for November 23, bringing together seven selected states from the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory to assess challenges, share experiences and develop recommendations for improved management.
Lawal said World Toilet Day would be commemorated simultaneously across the states through community sensitisation, advocacy campaigns and sanitary inspections of public places.
He called on state and local governments to strengthen faecal sludge and wastewater management, including systems for collection, transportation, treatment, safe disposal and reuse.
He also urged households and communities to embrace proper toilet use, handwashing and environmental cleanliness, while calling on the private sector to invest in affordable sanitation technologies and climate resilient infrastructure.
“Government alone cannot achieve universal access to safe sanitation. Sanitation is everybody’s business,” urging development partners, non governmental organisations and civil society groups to sustain support for public education and sanitation infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities.
The minister further stressed that women and girls must be actively involved in designing, implementing and monitoring sanitation solutions, rather than being treated merely as beneficiaries.
In her welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, represented by Rita Okea, Deputy Director and Head of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, said the absence of safe, accessible and private toilets in schools, workplaces and public spaces continued to undermine the health, safety and dignity of women and girls.
She called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, development partners, the private sector, civil society organisations and communities to close sanitation gaps and accelerate efforts to end open defecation.
The United Nations General Assembly designated November 19 as World Toilet Day in 2013 to raise awareness of the global sanitation crisis and promote action towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation.
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