There are more cell phones in Nigeria than toilets – UNICEF

The Chief of WASH, UNICEF, Zaid Jurj, has stated that 140 million people have access to cell phones than toilets in Nigeria.
Jurji stated this in Port-Harcourt on Monday while quoting the  Nigeria Communication Commission’s  2018 report, he lamented that only 39% of Nigerians used an improved toilets that is not shared by more than one household and only 97 million have access to improve sanitation.
He stressed that the sanitation sector in the country is poorly resourced and the country has the largest number of people that do open defecation in Africa and the second largest in the world.
Jurji stressed that if Nigerian can curtailed the level of open defecation, it will go a long way in reducing the menace because of the huge population of the country.
The WASH Chief further stated that the problem of poor hygiene affects schools and hospitals as only 49% of schools in the country has usable latrines for children and only 37% health facilities have at least one usable toilet for their patients.
He also decried the poor budgetary situation in the sanitation sector stating that the rural areas are usually the most affected as there is poor accountability in government.
Jurji elaborated that the cost of open defecation in the country are much as it leads to diseases, sickness and loss of dignity.
The Eagle Online reports that the programme is a two-day media dialogue on European Union and Niger Delta Water Project organized by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in conjunction with UNICEF.