Environmental pollution and water sanitation and hygiene challenges in Nigeria: can it be solved?

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Increasing population and industrialization had led to high rate of environmental pollution with effect on water quality and hygiene in Nigeria. Previous studies in Nigeria had focused on evaluating the effect of environmental pollution and release of associated potentially toxic metal on public health. This paper discusses various challenges that exist in environmental pollution and water sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria. METHODS: A literature search using various keywords was done. Articles selected for review were chosen following predefined criteria, to extract and analyze data. RESULTS:The results revealed that the hygienic condition of most locality found within Nigeria are in an unacceptable level when assessed with the nation’s and international regulations and this had led to various environmental health issues. In the waters (ground and surface), nearly all potentially toxic metals (arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium) observed were due to various human activities such as artisanal mining, indiscriminate disposal of wastes, un-channeled water discharge, uncontrolled release of organic wastes, etc causing environmental pollution and their concentrations were found to be above the Nigerian and WHO permissible standards. This invariably lead to various health challenges observed part of which happened in 2013, were over nine hundred children died from exposure to lead in Zamfara, Nigeria. The need to reduce the concentration of these metals in the environment made the government to establish various environmental laws on the mode of emission of these metals. CONCLUSIONS:Environmental pollution and water sanitation challenges which had increased public health issues are mainly from different human activities in Nigeria. More stringent regulations must be in place to avert these challenges and make the environment healthier. KEYWORDS: Environmental pollution, Water sanitation and Hygiene, Toxic metals.