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- Pix(above): Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, Hon. Minister, Water Resources
Preparations for Nigeria’s hosting of the World Toilet Summit are presently in top gear, with the nation’’s Federal Ministry of Water Resources embarking on high-powered sensitisation programme on the event set to take place in Abuja, November 18-19, 2022.
Giving the background of the programme in a world press conference in Abuja, October 27, the Honourable Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, said the hosting right was granted to Nigeria by World Toilet Organisation founded by Mr Jack Sim, a philanthropist from Singapore, noting that the World Toilet Summit was founded on 19th November, 2001 as a non-profit organization committed to improving Toilet and Sanitation conditions worldwide in line with the vision of the founding father. Nigeria, he said, will be the second country in Africa to host this World Toilet Summit after South Africa.
According to the minister, WTO is vested with the power of empowering individuals through education, training and building local market-place opportunities to advocate for clean and safe sanitation facilities in their communities.
“Since 2013, the United Nations has observed November 19th as the World Toilet Day, with Nigeria being the second country in Africa to host the World Toilet Summit. We are gathered here today to receive more information of the forth coming World Toilet Summit 2022 which, as you all are already aware, will be held in Abuja Nigeria,” he said, adding that “this World Press Conference has become imperative to bring us up to speed as preparations are on for Nigeria’s hosting of the World Toilet Summit on the 18th-19th November, 2022.
Stressing the gains inherent in the summit, he said: “this is a global event which will provide an excellent opportunity to bring greater visibility to the issue of ending open defecation in Nigeria and it is expected to enhance Nigeria’s capability to be better equipped towards meeting the target of ending open defecation by 2025.
“It will be recalled that the National Campaign to end open defecation was approved by Federal Executive Council (FEC) on May 8, 2019 with the aim of mobilising all strata of the society in fighting the menace of open defecation,” he further said, noting that about 48 million people were said to be defecating in the open, according to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Routine Mapping Survey (WASH NORM).
According to him, the national campaign proper was flagged off on 18th November 2019 by the Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, and this was closely followed by the promulgation of an Executive Order 009 by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on 20th November 2019.
He affirmed that Nigeria is committed to ending open defecation, noting that in 2017 “we had only one local government area that is Open Defecation Free, but as at today, we have 85 Local Government Areas certified open defecation free.
“It might interest you to note that Jigawa State has blazed the trail as the first state to become Open Defecation Free (ODF),” the minister informed, stressing that they deserve commendation for their dedication to the work of becoming ODF, also commending the CNC team and UNICEF for their steadfastness to the campaign.
He continued: “The 2022 World Toilet Summit which Nigeria is hosting is a unique global platform in which Stakeholders, NGOs, Development Partners and high-level Decision Makers would come together to better strategize and address in-country sanitation challenges, proffer solutions that will help to resolve the issues around Open Defecation.
“It is also a perfect opportunity to mobilize national engagement in the sector by different Stakeholders, especially the Private Sector.
“Suffice it to mention here that the World Toilet Summit which started 22 years ago has left a positive legacy on each of its previous host countries. I have no doubt in my mind that Nigeria will be much better after hosting this global event.
“Furthermore, the World Toilet Summit aims at facilitating global conversation around the creation of sustainable sanitation markets that will actively stimulate economic growth within the sanitation value chain, expose the financial gains inherent in sanitation technology and encourage private sector innovation.
“Therefore, it is important at this point to effectively communicate the activities lined up for the Summit to all Nigerians and the other stakeholders across the world.
“With the hosting right granted to Nigeria, it is expected that it will be a massive boost to the campaign in such a way that the information about ending the menace of Open Defecation will be taken to all nooks and crannies of the country.
“We are not resting on our oars as we will continue to work tirelessly in ensuring that all the 774 LGAs in the country are open defecation free. I assure you that the summit will be a game changing one in support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of making Nigeria Open Defecation Free come 2025 as part of the Dividends of Democracy to Nigerians.
“The summit will showcase lively discussions on behavioural change, new sanitation projects and programmes, keynote speeches and thought provoking conversations about global best practices, exhibitions of new sanitation innovations, and share past experiences of other countries that have benefitted from hosting the summit.
“Again, it is going to be a unique opportunity for Nigeria to accelerate progress through sincere collaboration with WTO to address the sanitation challenges in the country and erase the ignoble global impression and abysmal sanitation records.”
Going further, Engr. Suleiman said: “Significantly, there are huge potentials from sanitation when delivered as a service. It will encourage the creation of sanitation products, building of toilets, establishments of mega utilities, treatment plants, medium and small entrepreneurs at the community levels, assuage the spread of diseases and leverage on private sector professional and investment capabilities and to make the summit a huge success, there is need to mobilize the entire populace and ensure participations up to the grassroots levels.
“You may wish to note that the selection of Nigeria to host the World Toilet Summit was facilitated by the Organized Private Sector in WASH (OPS-WASH) and Nigeria’s stride towards eliminating open defecation practices in the country, through the implementation of a National Roadmap for Elimination of Open Defecation in Nigeria by 2025, tagged ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ Campaign.
“It is noteworthy that the Federal Government of Nigeria has demonstrated commitment at the highest political level to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector in Nigeria through various initiatives like the Presidential declaration of the ‘State of Emergency’ in the WASH Sector, the National Action Plan for Revitalization of the WASH Sector (2018) to revitalize the sector, Partnership for Expanded Water Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) programme Strategy (2016-2030), the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ Campaign (CNC), and the Sustainable Urban and Rural WASH project (SURWASH), among others.
Noting that Nigeria needs all the support it can get in ensuring that different sector initiatives at the summit achieve the intended goals (gain traction), the minister noted, “we recognise the significant role of the Private Sector in boosting the Sanitation Value Chain while creating a circular economy across this value chain capable of boosting the country’s economic indices and have positive impact across other sectors.
He, therefore, assured the global visitors of their safety and security while in Nigeria, stressing that all functional mechanisms have been put in place to guarantee that all is well/SHARE THIS
- Tags: World Toilet Summit, FMWR, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, OPS-WASH, ODF