The World Bank has approved a $700 million loan for the Nigeria Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme (SURWASH).
In a statement released yesterday, the bank said the credit will provide six million people with basic drinking water services and 1.4 million people access to improved sanitation services.
It would also deliver improved Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services to 2,000 schools and Health Care Facilities and assist 500 communities to achieve open defecation-free status.
The projects are part of the Federal Government’s National Action Plan (NAP) for the revitalisation of Nigeria’s water supply, sanitation, and hygiene sector.
“In 2019, approximately 60 million Nigerians were living without access to basic drinking water services, 80 million without access to improved sanitation facilities and 167 million without access to a basic handwashing facility.
“In rural areas, 39 per cent of households lack access to at least, basic water supply services, while only half have access to improved sanitation and almost a third (29 per cent) practise open defecation, a fraction that has marginally changed since 1990,” said the statement.
The bank, however, said in recent years, the Federal Government had strengthened its commitment toward improving access to WASH services, spurred on by the need for Nigeria’s WASH sector to catch up with its regional counterparts.
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