By Rasheeda Hamidu
The African Development Bank, AfDB, has backed Nigeria’s accelerated urban sanitation reforms, describing a newly launched diagnostic report as “a roadmap for action” to improve public health, protect the environment and strengthen climate resilience.
AfDB officials made the call on Tuesday at the dissemination of the _Nigeria Urban Sanitation Sector Diagnostic Report_ and the _Africa Water Investment Programme_ in Abuja.
The AfDB’s Lead Operations Manager, Orison Amu, said the report should guide investment and policy decisions across the country.
“This is a roadmap for action, not merely a catalogue of challenges,” Amu stated. He urged federal and state governments, development partners and the private sector to translate its recommendations into measurable interventions.
Also speaking, AfDB Division Manager, AHWS.1, Jeanne-Astrid Ngako, warned that Nigeria’s rapidly growing urban population makes expanding access to safe sanitation increasingly urgent.
She called for increased investment, innovative financing and stronger collaboration among governments, development partners, the private sector and communities to close the sanitation infrastructure gap.
Representing the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, the Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ali Dallah, described the report as a critical milestone toward achieving safely managed sanitation services nationwide.
“The report will guide evidence-based decisions, strengthen institutional collaboration and support the investments needed to transform sanitation services across the country,” Dallah said.
The Director of Water Quality Control and Sanitation in the ministry, Jamilu Danhabu, identified rapid urbanisation, population growth, weak infrastructure and inadequate financing as major factors undermining sanitation services in Nigerian cities.
Danhabu stressed that improving systems would require stronger political commitment, increased funding and coordinated action by government institutions, development partners and the private sector.
NatureNews reports that poor urban sanitation contributes to water pollution, environmental degradation, disease outbreaks and increased flood risks, particularly in densely populated urban centres with poorly managed drainage systems.
Stakeholders at the event, including representatives of federal and state governments, financial institutions, academia, civil society and the private sector, pledged support for implementing the report’s recommendations to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030.
_NatureNews_ notes that sustained investment in sanitation infrastructure, effective governance and stronger institutional partnerships remain essential to building cleaner, healthier and more climate-resilient communities across Nigeria.
