Involving Women In Ensuring Water, Sanitation And Hygiene (WASH) Is Not A Luxury

Photo credit-: Dii Nyau via pexels

Water and sanitation, which might be seen as the basic needs that must be available to all, is a luxury in some parts of the world. A foresight that billions of people might lack access to water is one of the reasons why Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 sets it as a target.

SDG 6 identified that access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is a human right and to ensure the target of the goal is reached, there is a need to increase sector-wide investment and capacity building, promote innovation and evidence-based and enhance cross-sectoral coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders

Water is essential not only to health, but also to poverty reduction, food security, peace and human rights, ecosystems, and education. However, countries like Nigeria face growing challenges linked to water scarcity, water pollution, degraded water-related ecosystems, and cooperation over transboundary water basins.

The issues facing countries like Nigeria and Kenya are not just the ones mentioned above, open defecation and flying toilet- the act of defecating in a plastic bag and disposing of it openly is the last resort of people who lack basic toilet facilities.

At the Safely Managed Sanitation conference organized by the United States Agency for International Development through its USAID/Nigeria Lagos Urban Water Sanitation and Hygiene Activity (LUWASH), stakeholders convened to discuss critical issues in sanitation within Lagos and other urban canter across Nigeria At the conference, it was revealed that the national target in Nigeria is to ensure the eradication of open defecation by 2025 and attain 100% coverage of improved sanitation with a mix of on-site and sewerage systems by 2030.

Group Photograph of Stakeholders at ‘’The Safely Managed Sanitation Conference’

Women as Changemakers

Women and girls in Africa traditionally bear the water management responsibility for cooking, cleaning, and other household chores. Despite needing WASH facilities to meet their needs related to menstruation, pregnancy, and self-care, they lack proper access to these facilities which may result in developing wash-related illnesses affecting their health and well-being. In turn, this affects the education of women and their involvement in decision-making.

Studies by the World Bank and UN Development Program have found that water projects that include women are more effective, and the results are sustained for longer. Women also reported being more comfortable buying sanitation products from other women. The studies also show that:

• Provision of on-site water will not only improve their well-being and mitigate vulnerability to gender-based violence but will free up girls’ time for uninterrupted schooling; women’s time for agriculture, work, and entrepreneurship; and women and girls’ time for engaging in social activities that support their mental and emotional well-being.
• Female-friendly latrines that include facilities for menstrual hygiene management in schools can improve the learning environment for students and the work environment for teachers, who are predominantly female in many countries. They also promote girls’ enrollment, attendance, and success at school, and expand their opportunities in the workforce. Similarly, adequate latrines and facilities for menstrual hygiene, as well as female-friendly workplace policies, are critical for women’s full participation in the workplace and marketplace.
• Women’s roles and expertise are equally important in natural resource management issues like watershed protection and management. Particularly in indigenous communities, women often hold important traditional knowledge about how best to manage, allocate and use both water and land resources. Where conflict over water resources is a risk, women’s participation in their management can contribute to peace processes. In fact, programs that include women in the early stages of development tend to have a long-term sustainable impact on water and sanitation service delivery.

Dr. Boluwaji Onobolu, president of the network of female professionals in WASH in Nigeria explained that women can get more involved in the drive to achieve safe sanitation in Nigeria if the stakeholders in the sector view women as not just targets or beneficiaries but as co-creators who need to be part of the decision making and the planning.

Dr. Boluwaji Onabolu at the ‘Safely Managed Sanitation Conference in Lagos, Nigeria’

In her words, “Women can get involved in the safe sanitation in Nigeria if stakeholders in the sector viewed women as not just target or beneficiary but as co-creators who need to be involved in decision making and planning and this can be achieved and one way to do that is working through a network such as female professionals in ‘WASH’, where we believe that we are stronger together and we have various professional bodies. NGO and staff of UN organization are part of the network.”

Dr. Onabolu emphasized that partnering with networks will result in having women more involved and the benefit of that will be ensuring people have access to sustainable and affordable ‘WASH’ facilities in Africa.