As Nigeria counts down to the 2019 general elections, WaterAid and other development partners are highlighting the importance of clean water and decent toilet to the general wellbeing of Nigerians and make the case for clean water, basic sanitation and good hygiene to be given priority in the country’s development agenda

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remain one of the most neglected critical issues in the country; a fact driven home by the Federal Government’s declaration of a state of emergency in its WASH sector in April this year. With nearly 60 million people living without clean water, over 120 million without access to a decent toilet and about 46 million defecating in the open, we cannot afford to ignore the urgency of WASH action in Nigeria.

At the current rates of progress, the promise to bring safe water and toilets to everyone by 2030 will not be met. In fact, the percentage of the population with access to basic sanitation continues to drop steadily. It is sad that a country of our stature cannot provide these basic life-saving services to its citizens. Nearly 60,000 children under the age of five die of WASH related diseases in Nigeria every year. Sub-Saharan Africa ranks lowest in the world for access to improved drinking water and sanitation and that is linked, of course, to the region’s under-five mortality rate which is one of the highest in the world.

There is still a lot of inequality in our society and we are still leaving millions behind: children, women, persons living with disabilities and our most vulnerable and marginalised communities. These are the people who could benefit most from these services and we need to ensure we target resources to those who are most at risk from a lack of access to clean water and sanitation.

Many Nigerians will save on health bills and be able to be more productive and generate more income if they have clean water and sanitation. Without access to water and sanitation, many will not get a fair chance at escaping poverty and reaching their full potential. Our leaders cannot continue to be careless with the health and wellbeing of its citizens and we must hold them responsible for doing the things they are supposed to do.

Sadly, the impact of poor access to WASH is not limited to health alone. Women and children bear the burden of getting water for the household; this prevents children from attending school regularly and can discourage parents from enrolling their children in school. Furthermore, it reduces the amount of time women can spend on productive activities that will help in alleviating poverty.

However, despite these documented negative impacts of lack of access to WASH, provision of WASH still ranks low in the development priorities of most elected officials in Nigeria.

Thankfully, we have an opportunity now to change this. You can change this.

The Vote4WASH campaign calls on all electoral candidates to ensure that water, sanitation and hygiene promotion is given the priority it deserves with ambitious universal access targets on (WASH) for households as well as schools, health facilities and other public places.

We ask that electoral candidates (across all elective positions) seeking the vote of Nigerians to heed calls to improve the wellbeing of Nigerians by providing universal access to clean water and decent toilets and ensuring that no child dies a preventable death because of a lack of these basic but yet vital and fundamental services.

We call on the people of Nigeria to use their votes to demand for their right to clean water and decent toilets. It is time for politicians to be held to a higher standard of governance. It is the duty of all eligible voters to seize this opportunity to hold candidates to account during and after the election. A vote for clean water is a vote for good health, education and improved livelihood.

The success of the Vote4WASH campaign was clearly documented in the last election with Aljazeera reporting that after corruption and before religious and ethnic divisions, water was a key election issue. We need to make and keep access to water, sanitation and hygiene a priority again.

Two students from Singapore, Caleb Liow Jia Le and Johnny Xiao Hong Yu, have won the 2018 Stockholm Junior Water Prize for producing reduced graphene oxide, a material that can be used to purify water from agricultural waste products.

In a statement, Ms Jens Berggren, Communications Director, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), said Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the patron of the prize, presented the prize at an award ceremony at the on-going World Water Week in Stockholm.

The World Water Week holds from Aug. 26 to Aug. 30 annually.

In their project, Caleb Liow Jia Le and Johnny Xiao Hong Yu developed a new method to produce reduced graphene oxide (rGO), a material that has huge potential to purify water.

The students, using durian rind and sugarcane bagasse , found a more environmentally friendly and cheaper method for producing rGO.

The statement quotes Caleb Liow Jia Le, while receiving the award as saying. “I am very, very happy, I am shocked that we won the prize because I really didn’t expect it!”

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize goes to the winners of an international annual competition with more than 10,000 entries from all over the world.

In its citation, the jury highlighted the wide local benefits of the students’ method.

“This year’s winning project inspires communities to find local solutions to improve water quality and resource recovery.

“The project developed a leading edge, inexpensive, and widely applicable method to clean water. Further development of this method will lead to public health and ecosystems protection.

“Therefore, the project embodies the themes of 2018 World Water Week – Water, Ecosystems and Human Development.

“The winning project has included concepts of circular economy, nanotechnology, and green chemistry. The project’s success will set new trends in the way we filter water.”

When asked how they would like to take the project further, Johnny Xiao Hong Yu said: “We will definitely try to think of ways to improve it and make it even more sustainable, even more environmentally friendly, so that it can be used to make an impact in the future.”

Mr Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of SIWI, said he was impressed by the students’ innovative project, adding that the provision of clean water was one of humanity’s greatest challenges.

He said the 2018 outstanding winners had found a way to purify water that was low-cost using, locally available resources and could help in getting clean water to the 2.1 billion people who still lacked it.

SIWI is an international water institute working to solve global water challenges by improving how water is used and managed.

The group influences decision-makers, facilitates dialogue and builds knowledge in water issues, thereby contributing to a just, prosperous and sustainable future for all.

SIWI organises the world’s most important annual water and development meeting, World Water Week, and awards the Stockholm Water Prize and Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

The World Water Week has brought together more than 3,500 participants from more than 130 countries representing governments, private sector, multilateral organisations, civil society and academia to find joint solutions to global water challenges.

By Tosin Kolade