Multinationals key to ending open defecation – Minister

Federal Government on Friday called on all multinational corporations to support its efforts toward ending open defecation in the country.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, said this while receiving members of the Organised Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH) in Abuja.

According to him, members of the OPS-WASH) are critical to meet the government’s target of increasing access to potable water.

He said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s target of taking 10 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years could be realised with investment in the water and sanitation sector.

Adamu said that Nigeria could not continue to pay lip service to issues of sanitation and hygiene, adding that with renewed commitment and partnerships with the private sector, it would be attainable.

The minister said that the national campaign was to end open defecation by 2025, and the WASH Action Plan was the strategy that was being used.

He described the role of behavioural change among the populace as very important.

“Our focus is on behavioural change; we are using the Community-led Total Sanitation approach, we are fully aligned and partnering with the private sector because we can’t continue to do these things in isolation.

“Efforts of the private sector is still a tip of the iceberg, so, we need to scale up.

“That’s why we are trying to bring everyone together, so that we will have that scale; because that is the only way we can achieve the sustainable development goals.

“If we continue to work the way we are operating, Coca-Cola is doing this, this one is doing that, this state government is doing that, we won’t be able to go far; that is why we brought out the concept of partnering with the private sector.”

Adamu said that one of the reasons the millennium development goals failed to reach its target was because all tiers of government relied on budgetary allocations, noting that Federal Government could not do it alone.

Earlier, Mr Clem Ugorji, Public Affairs and Communications Director, West Africa Business Unit, Coca-Cola, said the aim of the visit was to pledge the organisation’s commitment toward meeting the sustainable development goals on water and sanitation.

Ugorji said the organisation saw the need to intervene and change the narratives of water in the country, hence the development of a 10-year strategy, which commences in 2021.

He said that the corporation was partnering with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in its Water and Development Alliance, working in diverse countries to make its impact felt by larger communities.

“In Kano State, we have a WASH programme that encompasses water supply, hygiene and sanitation; both infrastructure and behavioural change campaign that we implemented in about 16 local government areas.

“And I am pleased to say that the project was implemented with a local implementing partner, the Women Farmers Association of Nigeria.

“The thing is that we don’t just do water, we do water and integrate it into the life of the community. So, you have water for drinking, washing and agriculture support, those programmes are still running now.”

Dr Nicholas Igwe, the National Coordinator, Organised Private Sector (OPS-WASH), said that the role of private sector in scaling up water and sanitation services in the country was very important.

He called for more commitment from all stakeholders, especially with the provisions of the Corporate Social Responsibility and how WASH access could promote value chain in job creation.