The Nigerian Government and Nestle Nigeria Plc have commenced a nationwide campaign to tackle challenges of unsafe water and poor sanitation, which costs the economy about N455 billion annually.
Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said at the Nestle Water Quality Advocacy Campaign in Abuja, on Wednesday that the government would pay greater attention to the quality of drinking water across the country.
Represented by the Director of Water Quality Control and Sanitation, Mrs. Elizabeth Ugoh, the minister disclosed that the 2021 National Water Report revealed that indices of contamination of drinking water at points of consumption in Nigeria were not encouraging, adding that, “Without access to safe water, our progress towards sustainable development remains incomplete.”
He noted that contaminated water was a leading cause of preventable diseases in the country, threatening health, productivity, and education.
Utsev called for stronger collective action through platforms such as the advocacy campaign and the annual Water Policy Conference to build consensus and galvanise solutions.
“We must invest more in water quality monitoring, enforce standards, and empower communities to be custodians of the very water they drink,” he said.
In her address at the event, the Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Lead at Nestlé Nigeria, Victoria Uwadoka, said that more than 113 million Nigerians lack access to safe drinking water.
Raising concerns on the figures from the 2024 research by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) on the state of portable water in Nigeria, Uwadoka stated that an estimated 87,000 children under five die annually from diarrhea linked directly to inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene.
According to her, the studies showed that more than 70,000 lives are lost each year to waterborne diseases and that “poor sanitation costs the Nigerian economy an estimated N455 billion every year, straining families and institutions alike.”
GIK/APA