World Bank has approved the sum of $700 million for Nigeria Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program (SURWASH).

The $700 million credit from the bank’s subsidiary, the International Development Association (IDA) will provide six million people with basic drinking water services and 1.4 million people access to improved sanitation services in the West African country.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, saying, the program would deliver improved water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services to 2,000 schools and Health Care Facilities and assist 500 Communities to achieve open defecation free status.

These would be implemented as part of the Government of Nigeria’s National Action Plan (NAP) for the revitalisation of Nigeria’s water supply, sanitation, and hygiene sector, it added.

The statement reads in bits, “In 2019, approximately 60 million Nigerians were living without access to basic drinking water services, 80 million without access to improved sanitation facilities and 167 million without access to a basic hand washing facility.

“In rural areas, 39 percent of households lack access to at least basic water supply services, while only half have access to improved sanitation and almost a third (29 percent) practice open defecation – a fraction that has marginally changed since 1990.

“In recent years, the Government of Nigeria (GoN) has strengthened its commitment towards improving access to WASH services, spurred on by the need for Nigeria’s WASH sector to catch up with its regional counterparts. This led to the government declaring a state of emergency in 2018 and launching the NAP aimed at ensuring universal access to sustainable and safely managed WASH services by 2030, commensurate with the SDGs,” it added.

Furthermore, the statement explained that the program would support the NAP which is a 13-year strategy prioritising actions within three phases: Emergency Plan, Recovery Plan, and Revitalization Strategy and also the Clean Nigeria; Use the Toilet Campaign which aims to have Nigeria free of open defecation by 2025.

“Given that access to WASH is an important determinant of human capital outcomes, including early childhood survival, nutrition, health, learning, and women’s empowerment – all of which in turn affect labour productivity and efficiency; the Program’s centrality to the human capital agenda and its potential to influence key human capital outcomes cannot be overemphasized,” World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri said.

Participating States will be able to improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene which will help to keep more girls in school, create employment, and reduce open defecation, while developing greater resilience to the impact of climate change, as well as conflicts between different land and water users,” he added.

The SURWASH Program, is performance based and participation is open to all states in Nigeria based on their commitment to specific reforms in the sector. The Program will support the GoN to enact necessary policy reforms and incentivize state and local governments, service providers, Technical Assistance providers, and community-based organisations (CBOs) to effectively deliver sustainable services in the sector. It will support a package of investments to expand access to and increase the use of WASH services in urban, small towns and rural areas.

Specifically, the program will support the development of infrastructure to improve water supply service delivery, sanitation and hygiene in institutions (schools and healthcare facilities) and public places such as markets, motor parks and others.

The World Bank’s IDA, established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives.

IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 76 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.6 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $21 billion over the last three years, with about 61 percent going to Africa

National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has reiterated that only 96% of Eligible Nigerians in the First Phase of COVID-19 Vaccination Exercise have so far been Vaccinated with the first dose’

The Executive Director/CEO
NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja stated that, “Our attention has been drawn to publications in some national dailies indicating that 96% of the total eligible population of Nigeria have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine so far; a figure purportedly obtained from the Press Conference organised by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency on Tuesday, 25th of May, 2021. This is not the correct statistics.

“Nigerians are aware that the Federal Government of Nigeria has, till today, taken delivery of only a total of Four Million, Twenty Four Thousand (4,024,000) doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. This is made up of 3,924,000 doses of Astrazeneca vaccine from the COVAX facility arrangement and 100,000 doses of the same vaccine donated by the Government of India.

“This vaccine is sufficient to cover approximately 2 Million Nigerians targeted in this phase of vaccination with 2 complete shots.

“Consequently, 1,929, 237 representing 96% of the eligible population of Nigerians in the first phase of this vaccination exercise have, as at 24th May, 2021 been vaccinated with the first dose, pleas”, he explained.

He, however, commended the media for the good job of consistently publicizing the activities of government, particularly, the COVID-19 vaccination rollout nationwide, since March this year, we, however, appeal that greater attention be paid to statistical details in future so that members of the public can remain guided by correct and truthful information, all the time.

…Says, COVID-19 Pandemic Threaten Decades Of Progress

The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened decades of progress we have made for children development in Nigeria, UNICEF has said. During this period, “Violence is perpetrated against one in four Nigerian children – and one in three Nigerian girls are sexually abused. This has only increased during the pandemic. “Today of all days, we must commit to reinforce the protection mechanisms for all children. This is as UNICEF join the rest of the world to commemorate Nigerian Children’s Day, saying that it comes at a challenging moment for child rights in the country and the world, with the COVID-19 pandemic threatening gains made for children’s development. However, the UNICEF’s Country Director, Peter Hawkins, issued the following statement: “It has been a challenging year for us all with the COVID-19 pandemic – not least of all, Nigeria’s children – and I want to commend efforts at all levels of Nigerian government and society to protect education, health, and protection services in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children. According to him, “As we rightfully celebrate Nigerian children today, let us also remember that the COVID-19 crisis has been a child rights crisis – in Nigeria and around the world. “Poverty is rising, inequality is growing, and the pandemic has often disrupted the essential services that secure the health, education and protection of children and young people. “The longer the pandemic goes on, the more intense the impact on women and children. “On this Nigerian Children’s Day, let us all agree that we cannot let one crisis compound another.” The UNICEF’s Country Director, in a statement by the Communication Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku stated that, “But we have learned from this pandemic too. One thing we have learned is that education takes place not only in schools – children can and should learn both in and out of school. A learning continuum is critical, so that all children continue to get an education irrespective of their situation, location, or the pandemic. Nigerian children are resilient, talented and aspire to do great things.  And it is our responsibility to give them the platform and encouragement to do just that. We know that protecting children and investing in women and families is not only the right thing to do – it has proven to be a sound economic choice and a cost-effective tool for national development. As we celebrate our children today, we must act in their best interests and deploy innovative solutions to fast-track learning and health services to build back better, for every Nigerian child.”