From: Femi Mustapha in Kaduna
As Nigeria joins the rest of Africa to observe the Day of the African Child 2026 under the theme “Ensuring Universal Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for Every Child in Africa,” Carelink Resource Foundation, CRF, has called for urgent and sustained action to ensure every Nigerian child, especially those in underserved rural communities, has access to safe water, proper sanitation, and hygiene services.
In a press briefing signed by Silas Spencer Ideva, Director of Programs and Executive Director of CRF, the organization stated that safe water, sanitation, and hygiene are basic rights and essential for child survival, nutrition, education, dignity, and national human capital development. Despite this, millions of Nigerian children still lack these essentials.
CRF noted that progress has been made, but many children remain underserved. According to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), access to basic drinking water services was 70.5% nationwide in 2024, slightly up from 73% in 2018, with improved sources.
However, rural areas still face critical gaps, with access at only 55.9%. Open defecation has decreased from about 25% of households in 2018 to 19.9% in 2024, but rural communities continue to bear the highest burden.
Sharing insights from Kaduna LGAs, Ideva stated that CRF’s Global Fund-supported interventions under ACOMIN in Kudan and Igabi LGAs revealed ongoing issues with contaminated water sources, poor sanitation, and weak maintenance systems.
While communities benefited from hygiene promotion, environmental sanitation, and increased access to boreholes, he said that sustainability is threatened by inadequate maintenance funding and weak technical systems.
The Foundation praised the Kaduna State Government under Governor Uba Sani for its commitment to WASH initiatives. According to Ideva, the 2026 budget allocates approximately ₦9.29 billion directly to WASH, with ₦7.0 billion for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, and ₦1.95 billion for water facility construction.
He emphasized that better budget utilization, transparency, accountability, and equitable implementation are necessary to bring meaningful progress to communities.
CRF calls on the government and development partners to improve the use and transparency of WASH budgets, focus on underserved communities, invest in maintenance, expand WASH services in schools, and scale Community-Led Total Sanitation approaches across the country.
“Every child deserves safe water, proper sanitation, and a healthy environment to survive and thrive. Investing in WASH is an investment in child survival, education, nutrition, dignity, and Nigeria’s future human capital,” Ideva concluded.
