The Federal Government has intensified efforts to address Nigeria’s sanitation challenges, calling for increased investment in toilet facilities, stronger enforcement of sanitation standards and coordinated action to eliminate open defecation across the country.
The government warned that inadequate access to safe and functional toilets remained a major public health and environmental concern, with women, girls, children, older persons and persons living with disabilities disproportionately affected.
The Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abbas Lawal, stated this on Tuesday during a ministerial briefing ahead of the 2026 World Toilet Day celebration scheduled for November 19.
Represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mrs Omotunde Adeola, the minister said the Federal Government was intensifying interventions to improve sanitation infrastructure and promote practices that safeguard public health, the environment and human dignity.
Speaking on the theme, “Sanitation and Gender Equality,” with the tagline, “Safe Toilets, Equal Futures,” Lawal said access to safe toilets, clean water and adequate menstrual hygiene facilities was essential to protecting the health, safety and dignity of women and girls.
He disclosed that access to improved sanitation in Nigeria remained below 36 per cent, while many public places, including markets, motor parks, schools and communities, lacked adequate and functional toilet facilities.
According to him, poor sanitation extends beyond environmental pollution, as it encourages open defecation, contaminates food and water sources and increases the risk of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
The minister observed that the absence of safe, accessible and private toilets exposed women and girls to health and security risks while limiting their participation in education, employment and other everyday activities.
He said the ministry was implementing several programmes to strengthen sanitation management and expand access to environmentally sustainable facilities.
The initiatives include training Environmental Health Officers in faecal sludge management and appropriate toilet design, the Clean and Green Programme, community-based waste management and open defecation control interventions.
Lawal added that the ministry was collaborating with private organisations to promote environmentally friendly sanitation facilities and encourage investment in affordable sanitation technologies.
As part of efforts to improve human waste management, he announced that the ministry would convene a National Dialogue on Faecal Sludge Management on November 23, 2026.
He said the dialogue would bring together seven selected states representing the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory to exchange experiences, examine implementation challenges and develop recommendations for improving faecal sludge management nationwide.
The minister urged state and local governments to strengthen their wastewater and faecal sludge management systems, stressing that addressing the sanitation crisis required sustained interventions at all levels of government.
He also called on the private sector to invest in affordable sanitation technologies and climate-resilient infrastructure, while encouraging development partners and non-governmental organisations to support public education and the provision of facilities, particularly in underserved communities.
Lawal further urged households to embrace proper toilet use, regular handwashing, personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness, noting that individual responsibility was critical to sustaining improvements in sanitation.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, represented by the Deputy Director and Head of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit, Mrs Rita Okea, said World Toilet Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 and is observed annually on November 19 to draw global attention to the sanitation crisis.
Okea noted that inadequate sanitation disproportionately affected women and girls, particularly in schools, workplaces, public spaces and underserved communities where the absence of safe and private toilet facilities undermined their health, dignity and participation in daily activities.
She emphasised that improving sanitation required sustained collaboration among federal, state and local governments, development partners, the private sector, civil society organisations and local communities.
According to her, the annual observance provides an opportunity to mobilise public support, raise awareness and renew commitments towards ensuring universal access to safe and inclusive sanitation facilities.
She disclosed that the ministry was undertaking community sensitisation campaigns, advocacy programmes and sanitary inspections of public places across the country as part of activities marking the 2026 celebration.
The Federal Government is expected to hold the national World Toilet Day celebration on November 19 at Kpadna Community in Abuja, with simultaneous activities planned across the states of the federation.
The renewed campaign comes amid persistent concerns over open defecation, inadequate public toilet infrastructure and the environmental and health consequences of poor human waste management.
Beyond expanding access to toilet facilities, effective collection, treatment and safe disposal of human waste remain essential to preventing environmental contamination and protecting public health.
The ministry called on Nigerians to take collective responsibility for ending open defecation and improving environmental hygiene, stressing that access to safe, inclusive and dignified sanitation facilities must be recognised as a fundamental public health and development priority.
