
UNICEF's Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Manager, Jamita Bora Thakkar
By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
UNICEF’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Manager, Jamita Bora Thakkar, has revealed that 53% of people in Borno State use basic latrines.
However, nearly half of the population, 47%, still lack access to basic toilets, leaving them at risk of unsafely disposed excreta, cholera, and other water-borne diseases.
Thakkar disclosed this on Monday during a media parley at the UNICEF Field Office in Maiduguri, Borno State’s capital to commemorate the 2024 World Toilet Day with the theme: ‘Toilets – A Place for Peace‘
She said: “This year’s World Toilet Day is a reminder that Sanitation is still an unfinished agenda. Progress towards universal sanitation is alarmingly off track, uneven between countries, inadequate to eliminate the inequalities and ensure that the most vulnerable are reached.”
“Globally, there are 3.5 billion people living without safe toilets and 2.2 billion persons living without safe drinking water. 419 million people still go to the toilet in the open (‘open defecation’).
” Although these figures are global, they reflect our local reality. To boost access to infrastructure and service delivery and close the gap, the right policy action and enabling environment are necessary steps to achieve at scale and with sustainability.
“World Toilet Day is about the ‘Countdown to 2030’-accelerating action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
She emphasized the importance of addressing open defecation and improving sanitation services, particularly in marginalized communities.
“Open defecation does not only harm physical health, it decimates productivity, impede school attendance and affect overall quality of life. This sanitation and hygiene gap encroaches into communal life, extending to schools, public institutions, markets and health facilities,” Jamita said.
“The time is NOW. With six years left to the SDGs year 2030, the window for action is rapidly closing. Lack of sanitation has a profound impact on public health, economic productivity, environmental sustainability, and educational attainment especially for women and girls who are affected disproportionately by poor sanitation conditions.
She commended the Borno State government for launching a roadmap to end open defecation and constituting an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on WASH. The state has already made progress in making two Local Government Areas (LGAs) open defecation free.
Thakkar stressed the need for sustained efforts to achieve universal access to sanitation and hygiene services. She highlighted the impact of poor sanitation on public health, economic productivity, environmental sustainability, and educational attainment, especially for women and girls.
She further pledged that UNICEF will continue to collaborate with the state government to implement the Open Defecation Free (ODF) Roadmap, aiming to make all LGAs in the state open defecation free.