45m Nigerians Still Defecate Openly as Safe Sanitation Access Plunges Nationwide

ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s sanitation crisis is deepening, with more than 45 million people still practicing open defecation and only 25% of the population able to access safely managed sanitation facilities, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, has warned.

Speaking in Abuja during the 2025 World Toilet Day commemoration, the minister—represented by Permanent Secretary Mahmud Kambari—said this year’s theme, “Sanitation in a Changing World,” underscores how climate change, rapid urbanisation, population pressures and structural inequality continue to overwhelm sanitation systems nationwide.

“Toilets remain a fundamental pillar of public health. They reduce disease exposure and uphold dignity, yet millions still lack them,” he said, noting that 4.2 billion people globally live without safe toilets.

Lawal cautioned that inadequate sanitation remains a major catalyst for outbreaks of cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid and intestinal worm infections, particularly among children under five. He added that the unsafe disposal of wastewater is increasingly contaminating rivers, open drains and groundwater sources across major urban centres, raising long-term environmental and public health risks.

Dr Bahijjahtu Abubakar, Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, echoed the warning, stressing that Nigeria’s sanitation gap disproportionately harms women and children.

“Millions of Nigerians still practice open defecation. This poses severe health and environmental risks, particularly for women and children,” she said.

Despite the scale of deprivation, the Federal Government insists it remains committed to eliminating open defecation by 2030, drawing on the Presidential Declaration on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and an ongoing review of Executive Order 009.

Officials say progress depends on scaling up sanitation infrastructure, improving facility management, strengthening hygiene education and boosting local government capacity to enforce standards.

“Today offers a chance to renew our collective commitment to ending open defecation. Nigeria cannot afford to slow down,” Abubakar added.

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Mirian Gom

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Gom Mirian AHR Senior Correspondent, has over 8 years’ experience reporting on health, crime, education, investigations, and development issues across Nigeria and Africa. With dual degrees in Economics, she combines analytical skill with compelling storytelling. Widely recognised for her public health and humanitarian reporting, she earned a Nestlé Award nomination for compelling human-interest journalism. Follow her on Twitter @mirian_linus.

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