Only 11% of Nigerian Schools Have Access to Water, Sanitation – UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed serious concern over Nigeria’s limited access to basic Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, disclosing that only 11 per cent of schools across the country are equipped with such essential services.
The warning was issued on Wednesday during a media dialogue on WASH facilities held in Kano. Speaking at the event, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office, Rahamah Farrah, highlighted that the absence of clean water, proper sanitation, and hygiene facilities in schools and healthcare centres is contributing to rising absenteeism, particularly among girls, while also exposing millions of children to preventable and life-threatening diseases such as cholera and malaria.
“Schools and healthcare centres are critical lifelines for children’s health, safety, and learning. When clean water and sanitation are unavailable, absenteeism increases and infectious diseases spread more rapidly, ultimately undermining Nigeria’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” Farrah said.
He noted that while some states, including Jigawa and Katsina, have made measurable progress towards ending open defecation, several states in the North-West continue to fall below national averages. According to him, gaps are particularly evident in the availability of handwashing stations and hygiene facilities in schools and public institutions.
Farrah further disclosed that UNICEF, with funding support from the United Kingdom government, has committed £19 million to the development of climate-resilient WASH infrastructure under the Climate Resilient Infrastructure and Systems (CRIPS) programme.
He explained that in 2025 alone, the intervention led to the delivery of 84 improved health and education facilities across Kano and Jigawa states. He added that the programme is currently being scaled up and extended to Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, and Katsina states to broaden its impact.
The UNICEF official also called on the media to intensify advocacy efforts by holding governments accountable for WASH-related budgetary allocations and ensuring the transparent and effective implementation of projects to improve access to water and sanitation.
Speaking on behalf of the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the board’s Secretary, Hajiya Amina Umar, revealed that Kano State has a total of 8,782 schools, comprising 7,331 primary schools and 1,451 junior secondary schools.
She disclosed that 5,884 schools in the state currently have WASH facilities, adding that the state government, in collaboration with partners, is working to expand coverage and improve the quality of water, sanitation, and hygiene services across all schools.
