About Us

Nigeria ranks second amongst countries practicing open defecation globally. According to the findings from the 2018 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH NORM) survey, twenty-four percent (24%) of the population, forty-six million (46 million) people practise open defecation.

Open defecation has an economic, social, and health impact on National development. Nigeria loses about 1.3%, four hundred and fifty-five billion Naira (₦455,000,000,000) of GDP annually due to poor sanitation and a third of that cost is as a result of open defecation. More than 100,000 children under five years of age die each year due to diarrhoea; of which 90 percent is directly attributed to unsafe water and sanitation.

In November 2018, the Nigerian President declared a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector, and reaffirmed Nigeria's commitment for eliminating open defecation in the country. President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently launched a National Campaign to jump-start the country's journey towards becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2025.

The Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR) with support from UNICEF Nigeria and otther development partners, and in partnership with inter-ministerial agencies, civil society organizations, the media, the private sector, and the people of Nigeria, is currently leading the "Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet" campaign to end open defecation by 2025 and achieve universal access to safely managed sanitation

"Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet" is an ambitious behavior-change campaign in Nigeria with a strong citizen engagement component. Leveraging on what is currently working (best practice) in states with Local Government Areas (LGAs) and communities certified as ODF, this campaign is a national movement hinged on policy advocacy, public advocacy, and private sector engagement.