WaterAid, PepsiCo Foundation provides clean water and decent toilets for over 700 school children in Lagos State

on
6 June 2023
The commissioned Female-Friendly Toilet
Image: WaterAid/Oshinaike Gbenga
27 September 2023; Lagos, Nigeria:

 

WaterAid, an International not-for-profit, working in partnership with the Lagos State Government, has commissioned a 10,000-litre capacity, solar-powered borehole, rehabilitated toilets and a newly constructed inclusive, female-friendly toilet block, which will serve over 700 school pupils and staff of Agidingbi Junior Grammar School in Ojodu Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.

The new water facility and toilets are part of interventions under the first year of the ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement project’ funded by the PepsiCo Foundation in Lagos State. The project’s target over a 3-year period is to reach at least 173,000 people with clean water, safely managed sanitation and hygiene promotion. The newly constructed inclusive female-friendly toilet has three compartments of shower and in each toilet, and padbanks to enable girls manage their periods while in school. The provision of these life-transforming services will improve learning and school attendance as children, especially girls, can stay in school because they have access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.

As part of the objective of the project is to strengthen systems and institutions, WaterAid built the capacity of community members by training over 20 female local area mechanic and establishing a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Committee (WASHCOM) to maintain and operate the new water facilities.

In Lagos State, only 36% of schools have access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASHNORMS) 2021.

Evelyn Mere, Country Director of WaterAid Nigeria, said:

Lack of clean water and decent toilets is threatening health, education and safety of Nigerian children. The child’s right to education, and water and sanitation are human rights that should be taken away or compromised. Children deserve a healthy learning environment with easy access to safe and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Lack of access to adequate WASH facilities can lower attendance and educational achievement in schools.

WaterAid particularly believes that menstruation-induced school absenteeism is preventable and that higher school enrolment, completion and transition rates among girls can be achieved. It is important that children are not exposed to infections and sanitation-related diseases as they pursue their dreams and aspirations for quality education that will guarantee meaningful lives in the future. WaterAid with support from PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation is making this possible for 700 children today.

We believe that the school community and the pupils will own these facilities and ensure their functionality, cleanliness and sustainability. We commend the government’s efforts in WASH service delivery and systems strengthening. We call for increased investments in clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene in schools so that children in Lagos State are not exposed to avoidable health risks in the pursuit of education.

C.D. Glin, President of the PepsiCo Foundation and Global Head of Social Impact for PepsiCo said:

We’re incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with WaterAid and the transformative work taking place in Lagos state to give access to the basic human right of clean, safe water.  This work builds on over 15 years of PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation and reaching more than 80 million people - including 12 million people in 2022 alone - with access to safe water through distribution, purification and conservation programs.  These efforts put us more than halfway to our pep+ goal of reaching 100 million people with safe water access by 2030.

Notes to Editors:

/ENDS

For more information, please contact:  

Ejura Adama, WaterAid Nigeria Communications Assistant, 

[email protected], +234 7034937582

Notes to Editors:

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 27 million people with clean water and 27 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org, www.wateraid.org/nigeria; follow @WaterAidNigeria, @WaterAid or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid, 

* In Nigeria:

  • Only 10% of the population has access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
  • 68 million people (33% of the population) lack access to basic drinking water services.
  • 113 million people (55% of the population) lack decent toilets.
  • 48 million people (23% of the population) practice open defecation.
  • 171 million people (83% of the population) lack basic handwashing facilities.
  • Only 11% of schools have access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
  • Only 6% of healthcare facilities have access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
  • Only 4% of parks and markets have access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

* 2021 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH NORM)

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