Nigeria Host 2022 World Toilet Summit Nov
It is official, Nigeria has been picked to host the 2022 World Toilet Summit slated for November this year.
Founder of the World Toilet Organisation (WTO), Mr Jack Sim, said Nigeria’s selection was an opportunity to showcase the extensive efforts of the Federal Government and also to drive the intended change in the global environment.
Announcing the choice of Nigeria at a virtual meeting of Water Sanitation and Hygiene Stakeholders and Development Partners on Wednesday, Sim said the summit presents a great opportunity for WTO members to visit Nigeria and engage stakeholders on effective ways to address its sanitation challenges.
He explained that in 2013, the United Nations (UN) member countries unanimously adopted November 19, as the day to create and sustain awareness on access to toilets globally.
Also speaking during the Zoom meeting, Chief Executive Officer, Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), Mrs Caterina De Albuquerque, noted that the world at some point seems to have forgotten about sanitation as related issues were no longer on the table for discussion and effective management.
Mrs Albuquerque praised the Federal Government for prioritising Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, stressing that Nigeria’s example would inspire other African nations to follow suit.
In his remarks at the meeting, Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, described Nigeria’s choice to host the 2022 World Toilet Summit as a welcome development, noting the Summit is coming at a time when the country has made significant and concrete plans to exit from the comity of nations that are still tolerating open defecation.
According to him, the ‘Open defecation free’ (ODF) Campaign, launched in November 2019, was meant to mobilise high-level political support, resources and the entire populace towards building a new culture of safe sanitation.
He however said Nigeria needs all necessary support to ensure the ODF Campaign gains traction with all stakeholders playing their part, adding; “I am optimistic that the World Toilet Summit will provide a veritable platform for the mobilisation of Private Sector and other critical stakeholders in addressing the challenge of Open Defecation in the country’’.
The Minister supported the position canvassed by SWA’s Chief Executive, Albuquerque, that high-level participation remains crucial in rallying global delegates and stakeholders for the campaign.
For the National Coordinator, Organised Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPSWASH), Dr Nicholas Igwe, choosing Nigeria as the summit host clearly endorses the Federal Government’s commitment and political will towards Water, Sanitation and Hygiene delivery in Nigeria.
Igwe, who maintained that the private sector has an important role to play in driving the sanitation economy as well as facilitating job creation, said SWA’s three key objectives include building and sustaining political will; championing multi-stakeholder collaboration; and facilitating strategies to attract new investments.
Similarly, in her intervention, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, appreciated all the stakeholders and Development partners present at the meeting, even as she maintained that joint commitment towards achieving the World Toilet Summit would take Nigeria to the next level.
On their part, the private sector, Development Partners, and stakeholders were reassuring in their comments on the initiative and pledged their support towards hosting a successful summit in Nigeria come November 2022.
Among the Private Sector and Development Partners at the meeting were the World Bank, UNICEF, Tolaram Group, Financial Markets Dealers Quotations (FMDQ), Reckitt, Coca-Cola, and Guinness Nigeria.
Founded in 2001 with 15 members, the World Toilet Organization (WTO) is a global non-profit organization committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide. Currently, the organisation’s membership has grown to 151 in 53 countries across the globe. – NAN reports
