The Federal Government has said only 36 percent of Nigerians have access to improved toilet facilities.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abuja to commemorate the 2026 World Toilet Day.
Lawal, who was represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mrs Omotunde Adeola, said many public places including markets, motor parks, schools and communities still lack adequate and functional toilet facilities.
He said the situation contributes to open defecation, contamination of food and water sources, and the spread of sanitation-related diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
He added that inadequate sanitation poses threats to public health, environmental safety and human dignity, with women, girls, children, older persons and persons living with disabilities mostly affected.
He said no child should miss school because of inadequate toilet facilities and no woman or girl should have to compromise her safety and dignity due to lack of suitable toilets.
Giving a global perspective, Lawal said about 4.5 billion people worldwide still lack safely managed sanitation, while 892 million continue to practise open defecation, underscoring the need to accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation, gender equality, good health and sustainable communities by 2030.
On interventions, he said the ministry in collaboration with relevant ministries, state governments and development partners is implementing programmes to improve sanitation and promote safe excreta disposal.
He listed the initiatives to include capacity building for Environmental Health Officers on faecal sludge management and toilet design, the Clean and Green Programme, and the Community-Based Waste Management and Open Defecation Control Programme.
Other interventions include integrating sanitation into climate adaptation and circular economy initiatives, and partnering with private sector operators to provide environmentally friendly sanitation facilities.
Lawal announced that the ministry will convene a National Dialogue on Faecal Sludge Management on November 23, 2026, involving seven selected states across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory to assess experiences and develop recommendations.
He said as part of activities marking World Toilet Day, the ministry will also organise a community sensitisation campaign at Kpadna Community, Utako, Abuja, on November 19, to engage residents, traders and food vendors on proper sanitation, hand hygiene and safe waste disposal.
He added that the commemoration will take place simultaneously across the 36 states and the FCT through community sensitisation, advocacy campaigns and sanitary inspections of public places.
The minister called on state and local governments to strengthen faecal sludge and wastewater management systems, urged households to embrace proper toilet use and handwashing, and called on the private sector to invest in affordable sanitation technologies.
He also urged women and girls to participate actively in designing and monitoring sanitation interventions.
This year’s World Toilet Day is themed Sanitation and Gender Equality, with the campaign tagline Safe Toilets. Equal Futures.