Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, has said irrespective of the substantial investments in the water sectors, it is essential that much more need to be done to improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene for citizens in the country.
Adamu made this statement on Friday in Lagos, who was the special guest of honour and keynote speaker at the WASH Open Innovation Fair 2023, saying the fair was a celebration of innovative solutions to the challenges of open defecation and the promotion of access to safe water and hygiene facilities.
Adamu pointed out that, “undeniably, the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Sector offers immense opportunities for investment, job creation, and poverty reduction, thereby indicating that it was the recognition of this potential that spurred the government to commit significant resources to the sector not only because of its intrinsic benefits but also because of its concomitant benefits to many other sectors.
He added, “You may recall that during the World Toilet Summit hosted by Nigeria last year, stakeholders identified investment opportunities estimated at 21 billion US dollars in the WASH Sector.
He said “This represents a significant opportunity that should drive innovation and investment in the sector. We must therefore leverage this and other opportunities to integrate creative solutions that will contribute to the resolution of identified challenges and stimulate more investment, encourage innovation and build capacity in the sector”.
Engr Adamu further emphasized that the WASH Open Innovation Fair 2023 provides an excellent platform for entrepreneurs and Innovators to showcase their ideas, products, and services designed to address the challenges of open defecation and enhance access to safe water and hygiene facilities through Innovative solutions and that solutions identified at this meeting will help strengthen the National initiatives such as the “Partnership For expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) which was launched as a national collaborative instrument to mobilize resources and harness the effort of the Federal and State Governments towards improving access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in rural areas”.
The Minister stated that the leadership of the present administration, Nigeria has consistently demonstrated the required strong political commitment to WASH issues and that through this initiative, the country is poised to join the pantheon of those countries that have developed local and innovative solutions in addressing the challenges of WASH Sector.