Access to clean water still major challenge in Nigeria - Poll
- NOIPolls has revealed that Nigerians seriously lack access to clean water
- The poll also said 50% of Nigerians rely on boreholes as their only source of clean drinking water
- It was also revealed that only 34% of Nigerians treat their water before drinking it
At this year’s World Water Day held on Friday, March 22, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasized how every area of our lives depend on water for sustenance, saying that water is human right hence nobody should be denied it.
In marking 2019 World Water Day, NOIPolls in collaboration with WaterAid, showed result of a poll conducted in 2018 on the access of Nigerians to water, clean water, and the challenges in getting it.
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Source: UGC
The first finding from the poll carried out showed that borehole still remains the only source of water to many Nigerians, as 50% use it for getting drinking water and 37% depend on it for domestic water use.
It also shows that most Nigerians are the sole providers of their water as against the international standard where it should be government’s responsibility to provide water.
Another sad thing revealed from the poll is that boreholes are not safe sources of water as they exposed underground pollutants E-coli which could cause diarrhoeal and increase child mortality rate.
Source: UGC
It was found out that 16% believe borehole to be a good source of water, while 34% treat their water before drinking and 49% adopt boiling as a form of treatment.
Only 37% have access to clean water while lamenting that it is a difficult task and it impacts on their spending and health.
The World Bank once said that access to clean water goes a long way in reducing child mortality rate, no wonder around 600,000 children under age five die annually from diseases related to lack of clean water.
Source: UGC
The poll also revealed that out of the 50% that said there access to clean water is from the use of borehole, those from south-south region of the country are most of the people who confirmed this.
Other means of getting clean water for Nigerian, it was found out, are tanker truck/water vendors, protected dug well, and piped water.
Out of the 66% Nigerians that do not treat their water, the north-east region has the highest number of 73% people whose water is untreated before drinking.
Source: UGC
On the other hand, the south-west had a whopping 48% of respondent who treat their water to make it safe for drinking, even as the poll further shows that four out of every 10 Nigerian household rely on boreholes for safe drinking water.
Thirty-four percent Nigerians rely on bottled and sachet water for their daily drinking water, while 10% get their water from piped water.
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Also, 31% said getting clean water impact greatly on their spending and their finances is a great determiner of getting access to clean water, while 18% said to get clean water, they have to go long distances to do so.
While 37% of Nigerian households have challenges accessing clean water, 63% of Nigerians do not access to clean water as a challenge to their homes.
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Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) said over 3.6 million people lack access to potable water, sanitation and hygiene services in Nigeria.
UNICEF’s representative in the country, Mohamed Fall, made this known on Friday, March 22, in a statement to commemorate World Water Day scheduled for Friday, March 22, with the 2019 theme: “Living no one behind”.
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