Open Defecation: A Known Enemy Affecting the Everyday Nigerian Life
Old woman showing her makeshift toilet.Credit: UN NewsBy Ojonugwa Yahaya from HipCity Innovation Centre Among human communities, there are some behaviours which have negative impact the people and endangers the health of the entire population. Most times, the people ignore the consequences because they believe it is an age-old practice and their forebears were not affected by it, or because of a fear of change. Also, when these people weigh their options and feel the cost of behavioural change outweighs their usual behaviour, they are usually unwilling to change. On the list of such unhealthy behaviour is the monster called open defecation (OD). Open defecation is the emptying of bowels in the open without the use of properly designed structures built for the handling of human waste such as toilet. People may choose to defecate in the fields, bushes, forest, canal, ditches, street or other open space. According to World Health Organisation open defecation pollutes the environment and causes health problems. Open defecation is linked to the high prevalence of water-borne infectious disease such as Diarrhoea, Cholera and Hepatitis A, among others. It is also linked to high child mortality, poor nutrition and poverty in Nigeria. The reasons that have been given by people who practice the habit of open defecation have either been poverty that makes it a challenge to build latrines or lack of government support in providing toilet facilities. In cases where the toilets are available, but people still end up preferring to defecate in the open, the reason can extend to cultural beliefs related to sharing toilets among family or non-family members. An example is can be found in communities where it is forbidden for a man to share the same toilet with a woman who is menstruating or a woman who newly gives birth to a child. In some other cases, people prefer open-air defecation due to the freedom it gives them as opposed to using a small dark structure or the inconvenience of using toilets that are dirty due to poor maintenance culture. Open defecation in Nigeria has a negative impact that cannot be overemphasised. It is not limited to local communities: even in the bustling city centres, open defecation is practiced predominantly by the people in these communities. Take the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja for example. In communities such as Shere (Bwari), Rije (Kuje), Leleyi Gwari (Kwali), Kaida (Gwagwalada), and even in the city centre like Jabi (Jabi Motor Park) and Utako Market etc, open defecation is very obvious. Following the declaration of a state of emergency on Nigeria’s Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), the inauguration of the National Action Plan for the Revitalization of Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) by the Nigerian government at the State House Conference Centre on 8th November 2018, and the national launch and flag-off of Clean Nigeria; Use the Toilet campaign on 19th November 2019, one would have envisaged that Nigeria would have made great strides in tackling the issue of open defecation in practicable terms. The opposite, however, is the case, with Nigeria topping the rank of countries practicing open defecation in the world in year 2020; a position formally occupied by India. This is a national issue and quite the shameful one. According to the findings from the 2018 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM) survey, 47 million people in Nigeria defecate in the open; that is, 1 in 4 Nigerians defecate in the open. Out of 47 million Nigerians who practice open defecation, 16 million live in the North Central, with Kogi State topping the list in the North Central. The cost of open defecation on the development of Nigeria as a country cannot be overemphasised. The cost of open defecation in Nigeria includes: • Economic Cost: Nigeria loses about 1.3% (N455 billion) of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually due to poor sanitation as a result of illness, low productivity, loss of learning opportunities etc. • Health Impact: More than 100,000 children under 5 years die each year due to diarrhoea; of which 90 percent is directly attributable to unsafe water and sanitation. Nigeria is the second country with the highest children’s deaths due to diarrhoea • Impact on Child Development: 1in 4 children under 5 years exhibit severe stunting, while 1 in 10 are wasted, due to frequent episodes of diarrhoea and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) related illnesses. • Low Productivity: Frequent episodes of WASH-related diseases cause absence from school or work, as affected people take time off to heal, and some to take care of a sick relative. • Poor Education Outcomes: Reduced school enrolment and attendance due to time lost in search for water and frequent episodes of WASH-related illnesses. • Loss of Dignity and Security: Open defecation results in loss of dignity, increased risks of insecurity and violence against women and children. Source: (www.cleannigeria.ng) The Nigerian government has an action plan to end open defecation by the year 2025. The Federal Ministry of Water Resources in partnership with other relevant government agencies, NGOs, CSOs, and few private entities are showing their commitment through the Clean Nigeria; Use the Toilet campaign towards achieving the open defecation-free (ODF) target of 2025. In a press statement by the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, on August 26, 2020, he stated that 27 out of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria were certified open defecation-free (ODF). This indicates that the journey towards achieving total ODF in Nigeria is still very far. Attaining rapid success and effectiveness with the Clean Nigeria; Use the Toilet Campaign depends on: • Strong political commitment in leadership at all levels and increased in budgetary allocation towards improved sanitation and ending open defecation. • Increased collaboration amongst development organizations and civil society organizations working to improve sanitation and end open defecation. • Increased and timely support from the media for the dissemination of behavioural change messages, and increased coverage of human-interest stories on sanitation and hygiene. • Increased private sector engagement in the
Public Restrooms Need to Change
Image: Sarcasm I am constantly baffled when I use restrooms in public spaces that have only tissue paper. But let me backtrack a bit. Growing up, I was taught to clean myself with water any time I peed or pooped and this was followed by a strict rule to wash my hands afterwards. This was common practice for my family and many families that I knew. So if I went to the toilet 20 times on any given day, I would clean myself with water 20 times. As we got older, the concept of cleaning ourselves with tissue paper began to be mainstream but again, we were taught to use the tissue paper to dab ourselves after we had washed with water. It wasn’t until I got to the university that I saw people use tissue papers as their primary cleaning option. I was shocked. So many questions ran through my head; how did they do that? Were they truly clean? And if not, were they comfortable walking around with traces of pee or poop on them? And then finally, I wondered if their nether regions smelled? There is a flip side though. The way I was looking at these people like they had alien parts sprouting out of their heads was the same way they were looking at me. I got asked some questions that expressed their shock at my choice. “Do you use your hands when you wipe down with water?” “Which hand do you use? And do you eat with that hand?” “How can you stand touching your feces?” “Isn’t it disgusting?” And they really were disgusted! So it made me wonder; was their option so ‘wrong’? Well…there are times that I have no option than to use a tissue paper. It has always felt weird. And worse, I have always had to deal with an itch every single time I have used this option. It may be psychological (or not) but that has always happened. As a result, if I have to poop when there is no water, I would rather hold it until I can find a toilet with a bucket or a water shower that I can use to wash. If however I have diarrhea and just have to go, I always feel bad afterwards. I use so much tissue that you have to wonder whether I am trying to clean the oil spillage in the Niger Delta. Even at that, I never feel clean. I am not the only one on this boat. In fact, I have heard of people who take off their clothes every time they poop and have full baths afterwards because they don’t want any remnant of feces on their bodies. The thought of carrying even the smallest remnant of feces on our bodies is why we have decided that the tissue option is not for us. Back to my opening statement. It is surprising that many hotels, restaurants, clubs, schools, offices and other public places do not have toilets that cater to people like me. So if we have to use the restrooms in these places, we have to wonder whether we can risk holding it in (which is totally unhealthy) or risk getting itches that may (or may not) be the start of an infection. This is why I think that ALL public places should have both options for people who use their facilities. Ensure that you have running water as well as an abundance of tissue papers. If you cannot provide a detachable toilet tap (or a bidet as it is called) in your toilet, then get a bucket and bowl in there. Or a small kettle. First, it ensures all your customers are satisfied and second, you wouldn’t have to deal with the possibility of having urine/feces on the seat, the door and every other place a person might touch if they do not wash their hands afterwards. And if are like me and don’t know what options you may have when you want to use public toilets, do yourself a favor and go in there with a small bottle that would suffice. We can’t allow ourselves suffer in a clear case of Mohammed refusing to go to the mountain. Here 👇 is what I think an ideal toilet in a public place should look like. What do you think? An ideal restroom with options for cleaning one’s self.Image: Becoming Peculiar
