Policy Brief: Ending Open Defecation in Nigeria
Mary Obidiya Okuku *
Infectious Disease Unit, Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present a policy brief on ending open defecation in Nigeria. The briefing notes the burden of open defecation (OD) in Nigeria, its causes, the impact of OD practices, successes achieved so far, as well as the failures encountered and offers recommendations to end the practice in order to achieve the sustainable development goal (SDG) 6.2 of ending open defecation globally by 2030 as proposed by the United Nations.
Key Recommendations:
- Strong Political Will to uphold and implement policies on sanitation
- Building more latrines
- Establishing monitoring team
- Capacity building
- Sustainable job creation
- Improved communication strategy
Keywords: Open defecation, policy, decision making, Nigeria.