Nigeria to launch expanded water, sanitation, hygiene initiative – Minister
The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, has described the Partnership for Expanded Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) initiative that would soon be launched as one that will help the nation in addressing it’s water and sanitation challenges towards meeting it’s Sustainable Development Goals on Sanitation in 2025 as well on Water supply in 2030 in both rural and urban areas respectively.
The minister who made this statement in Sweden during the 2017 World Water week conference with theme, “Water and Waste: reduce and reuse, touches the very core of our daily lives” lamented the pathetic situation of water supply and sanitation sub sector.
According to him, Nigeria is taking a critical look at the Water Supply and Sanitation sub-sector by launching the PEWASH document to bring efforts of federal government, states government and other critical stakeholders in the water sector together on strategic roles each is to play in addressing the pathetic situation of the sub-sector.
He also stressed the need for countries especially Africans attending the 2017 World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Sweden to ensure they take away from the global conference of water experts, knowledge on how to turn waste water into economic good.
“such gathering of water experts, development professionals and policy makers in the sector would afford most especially the developing countries of Africa an opportunity to learn and adopt best practices of the developed continents on waste water management.
“African countries should use this opportunity to learn from the developed world best technologies of reducing waste water and turn it to economic benefit by reusing it”, he said. He added that effective management of waste water will not only improve the economies of Africa, but would also improve and promote good health of Africans.
The Minster further described the theme of the conference as appropriate stressing that for waste to be reduce some drastic changes will be necessary especially by the main wastewater users including, industries, energy producers and the agriculture sector.
The World Water Week is the world’s biggest global annual meeting focusing on water and development. It is organized by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The conference drew over 3,000 participants from nearly 130 countries, to carry out and share new research results, share experiences, discuss progress in the implementation of global goals, and together try to find new ways in meeting the world’s growing water challenges.
