By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko, Ibadan
Experts says to tackle global sanitation crisis and achieve the SDG 6, government at all levels should strengthen and monitor sanitation officers around the country.
They spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Ibadan to commemorate the 2025 World Toilet Day.
NAN reports that World Toilet Day is commemorated annually on Nov. 19 and the 2025 celebration is themed “Sanitation in a Changing world.”
They highlighted the importance of good sanitation and the health risks associated with poor sanitation and toilet hygiene.
According to Dr Francis Sanwo, the Medical Director of Our Lady of Apostles Catholic Hospital, Oluyoro Oke-Offa in Ibadan, government must strengthen the services of sanitation officers.
He noted that sanitation officers who routinely assess environmental cleanliness and submit reports to the government should also be subject to strict monitoring.
He added that their (sanitation officers) proximity to the people will ensure sustainable environmental hygiene and improve the accuracy of situation reports.
“Government is not doing enough; 2030 may not be realistic; many houses in the urban areas still lack toilet facilities, not to talk of the rural areas.
“Bush attack is still common, so the government should bring back the sanitary officers or health inspectors as we know them in the 70s (wole-wole) and we’ll be good to go.
“They themselves must be monitored and sanctioned when they are found wanting like collecting bribes,” he said.
Sanwo, a family physician, described the toilet as a life-saver, a protector of dignity, and an opportunity maker, adding that achieving universal access to basic sanitation requires additional effort.
He said that poor sanitation could lead to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, Hepatitis A, and Typhoid among others.
According to him, poor sanitation undermines human well-being and socio-economic development, leading to issues such as increased anxiety, risk of sexual assault, and loss of educational opportunities.
He noted that inadequate sanitation is estimated to cause 432 000 diarrhoeal deaths annually and a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis, and trachoma.
The family physician noted that poor sanitation could also contribute to malnutrition.
“Good water, sanitation and hygiene can prevent the deaths of 297 000 under-5 children each year but open defecation perpetuates a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.
“The situation of the urban poor poses a growing challenge, as many now live in expanding megacities where sewage systems are precarious or non-existent, and where space for toilets and waste disposal is extremely limited.
“Inequalities in access are compounded when sewage removed from wealthier households is discharged into storm drains, waterways or landfills, polluting poor residential areas.
“Limited data available on this topic suggests that a large proportion of wastewater in developing countries is discharged partially treated or untreated directly into rivers, lakes or the ocean.
“Wastewater is increasingly seen as a resource providing reliable water and nutrients for food production to feed growing urban populations.
“Yet, this requires management practices that ensure wastewater is sufficiently treated and safely reused; institutional oversight and regulation; and public education campaigns to inform people about wastewater use,” he said .
Dr Ifeoluwa Odedina, Public Health physician at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said the theme is very apt.
Odedina added that the challenge of providing sanitation worldwide is increasing as the human population grows rapidly and urbanisation continues to surge.
He noted that poor toilet hygiene is risky for the individual, the community and the country.
“For the individual, it can cause problems like anal irritation and itching, it can also expose the person to infections like cholera and dysentery. In the community, it can lead to the spread of sicknesses and make families ill.
“Sick people cannot work and earn money and they also lose money by treating illnesses.
“For the country, it leads to stress on the health system by increasing the volume of people who need treatment and sometimes leads to needless deaths.
“Another demerit of poor toilet hygiene is an unpleasant environment which makes a community unsightly and the country unattractive for tourism,” he said.
Odedina urged government to enforce the proper sanitation of the environment by making sure homes, markets, schools and other structures are built with proper toilet facilities while ensuring proper usage and maintenance.
He advised relevant stakeholders such as civil organisations to educate people under their sphere of influence to prioritise toilet use for the sake of their health.
“There is also a big need to inculcate hygiene into the education system as good lifelong habits are best learned from childhood,” he said.
The public health expert maintained that the Nigerian government must prioritise the environment by paying better attention to regulation of sanitary standards.
Meanwhile, NAN visited some shops without toilet facility and when asked why, one of them who simply identified himself as Comrade Stanley, said it was not easy to get shops with toilet.
“The owner of the building is late and the agent does not have the capacity to build toilet.
“It’s not always easy for us,. But when we’re seriously pressed, we run to the nearest bank around us to defecate most times,” he said.
A woman who spoke anonymously said that although she understands the dangers of open defecation, she cannot build a toilet because her shop is located by the roadside.
“What we have here are just containers and they are on the road, so there is no way one can build a toilet with such a structure.
“I normally run to a nearby church toilet to defecate whenever I’m pressed,” she said. (NAN)
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