Published 20th Mar, 2023

By Ridhwan Abdullahi

No less than 78 million Nigerian children are at the highest risk of water-related threats, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

Dr. Jane Bevan, the Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, UNICEF Nigeria, made this known on Monday in a press statement released ahead of the UN’s March 2023 Water Conference in New York.

“Seventy-eight million children in Nigeria are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene; related disease; and climate hazards – according to a new UNICEF analysis,” the statement read in part.

“In Nigeria, one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-third do not have basic sanitation services. Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands due to lack of water and soap at home. As a result, Nigeria is one the 10 countries that carry the heaviest burden of child death from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhea diseases.

“Nigeria also ranks second out of 163 countries globally with the highest risk of exposure to climate and environmental threats. Groundwater levels are also dropping, requiring some communities to dig wells twice as deep as just a decade ago. At the same time, rainfall has become more erratic and intense, leading to floods that contaminate scarce water supplies.”

The Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018 – 2028), also known as UN 2023 Water Conference, is to result in a summary of proceedings from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President, Csaba Korosi, for inclusion in the 2023 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on sustainable development.

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