Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that at least half of Nigeria’s population in the North Central (48 per cent), North East (63 per cent) and North West (67 per cent) are poor while an estimated 11 million are living with various forms of disabilities.
In its 2019 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping Report, the Bureau also noted that the health status of households shows that about one in 10 households (11 per cent) are reported to be suffering from diarrhoea in the past six weeks preceding the survey and among these households, 72 per cent of the household members who suffered diarrhoea cases are children under five.
The survey also shows that one in 10 households has at least one person living with disabilities, while the proportion of the entire population living with disabilities is six. This, NBS said, amounts to about 11 million people in Nigeria living with disabilities.
“At the time of the survey, slightly more than 58 per cent of households lived in core rural areas, while 41 per cent households ranked among the poor to the poorest wealth quintiles. It was observed from the findings that out of the 56 per cent of the rural households, only eight per cent of the urban households, and at least half of the population in the North Central (48 per cent), North East (63 per cent) and North West (67 per cent) belong to the poor and poorest wealth quintiles. The health status of households showed that about one in 10 households (11 per cent) was reported to be suffering from diarrhoea in the past six weeks preceding the survey. Among these households, 72 per cent of the household members who suffered diarrhoea cases are children under five,” NBS said.
In his remarks at the launch of the document, in Abuja, Statistician General, Dr Yemi Kale, said that about 70 per cent of Nigerians have access to basic drinking water supply services, slightly up from 68 per cent recorded in 2018. However, he said, most of this progress are biased towards urban areas.
By wealth quintiles, the poorest households are two times less likely to have access to basic water supply services than the richest households.
“With respect to facilities, 74 per cent of publicly-owned water facilities are functional, a five percentage point increase from 2018.
About 44 per cent of the population have access to basic sanitation services (compared to 42 per cent recorded in 2018), while 23 per cent of Nigerians continue to practise open defecation (compared to 24 per cent in 2018).
