–Pix above: Prof Joseph Utsev, HMWR&S(m), Alhaji Bello Goronyo, HMWR&S(2nd left), Dr Rownak Khan, Deputy Rep, UNICEF Bigeria(2nd right) and Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, PS, FMWR&S(r)
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For Nigeria to achieve the desired roadmap in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), funding gaps must be adequately closed, the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) has advised.
Deputy Representative of the Programme, UNICEF, Nigeria, Dr Rownak Khan, stated this when she visited the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, and the Minister of State, Alhaji Bello Goronyo, in Abuja.
Khan stressed that the government must be willing to do more by providing an enabling environment that would advance the cause.
According to her, working together to change the poor narrative will require new government financing at all levels, noting that low water access and poor sanitation are affecting children the most.
According to her, UNICEF has identified a funding gap of $9.2 billion in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in Nigeria.
“For Nigeria to achieve the roadmap for the WASH sector, the funding gaps must be closed, even as the three tiers of government must do more by providing an enabling environment that would advance the cause” she added.
She pledged UNICEF’s sustained partnership with the Federal Government to achieve the Campaign to End Open Defecation and Improve Access to Water Supply.
Responding, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joesph Utsev who commended UNICEF for efforts towards Nigeria’s growth and development in the areas of education, health, water, and sanitation, explained that Nigeria will never underestimate the huge linkage between WASH, health promotion, economic growth and development, stressing that WASH will assist in promoting inclusive development.
“UNICEF has done tremendously well in the areas of water and sanitation, nutrition and health and the impact is felt in all aspects.
“Nigerian government is also working in its programmes like WASH in schools, WASH in health and Youth WASH interventions,” he said.
Utsev assured UNICEF of the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the nation’s WASH sector, adding that the government’s door is always open for more collaboration with development partners.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Goronyo, stressed the need for key stakeholders in the WASH sector to up the ante of their game in supporting the Federal Government to actualize the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration./SHARE THIS
