Abstract
Open defecation has continued to pose serious health and environmental challenges globally. This practice affects almost 1 billion people worldwide and is said to contribute significantly to an estimated 842,000 deaths resulting from sanitation related diseases. A survey conducted by UNICEF ranks Nigeria as the African country with the highest population practicing open defecation and the second next to India globally. To tackle this and to prevent an environmental and health crisis, a state of emergency was declared in the water supply, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH) sector that led to the signing of an executive order to end open defecation by 2025. The objective is to eliminate open defecation and also ensure that SDG 6 is achieved especially in the rural areas. This paper posits that achieving an open defecation free status has and still remains a primary target for the government in Nigeria at all levels and the machinery of law be deployed as a viable tool to achieve this target. It submits that for this target to be met, there is the need to recognize the right to sanitation as one of the key ways to address sanitation issues especially open defecation. Articulating this right in a way that respects equity, human rights and environmental sustainability will effectively aid in the realization of the goal of ending open defecation by 2025.
Highlights
Good hygiene practice is an important aspect of environmental public health as a result of its impact in disease prevention and control, especially as it concerns waterborne and sanitation related diseases
In a water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) survey conducted by the Nigerian Ministry of Water Resources and National Bureau of Statistics with support from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it was discovered that one of the impediments to proper hygiene in Nigeria is the high prevalence of open defecation. (UNICEF, 2018)
Haven established that sanitation is fundamental for human survival and for leading a life in dignity, the right to sanitation as a component of the legal framework that would serve as a panacea and complement the political will of the government in Nigeria to end open defecation is justified on the following grounds; (a) Explicit legal recognition of the right to sanitation will make it a legal entitlement, rather than a charity or only a moral priority
Summary
Good hygiene practice is an important aspect of environmental public health as a result of its impact in disease prevention and control, especially as it concerns waterborne and sanitation related diseases. The order though an administrative one provides that the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assemble shall enact legislation on the practice of open defecation with appropriate sanctions and penalties This is necessary because effectively combating the scourge of open defecation in Nigeria would improve the quality of life and the environment as well as aid in the actualization of fundamental rights the rights to Gbadegesin and Akintola / European Journal of Environment and Public Health, 4(2), em0043 life and human dignity as contained in section 33 and 34 of the Constitution (Obani et al, 2014). Articulating this right is necessary to fulfill the goal of ensuring human dignity of every Nigerian as the government seeks to effectively end the practice of open defecation and improve the general level of sanitation hygiene practices in Nigeria. The paper would conclude by recommending that the recognition of right to sanitation as a human right should be the focus of environmental sanitation laws at all levels of government to ensure that the aim of making Nigeria open defecation free by 2025 is achieved
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