Most Nigerian households may not have ample access for handwashing to soap and water, a report by the National Statistics Bureau has said.
Washing of hands under running water with soap for at least 20 seconds is a vital aspect of combating coronavirus transmission.
However, in its National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS) on the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 on Nigerian households conducted for June, the bureau said 24 per cent have insufficient soap and 7 per cent insufficient water for washing hands. The survey is the second of a planned 12 series of the COVID-19 NLPS of households in Nigeria – 1,950 households – to monitor the economic impact of the pandemic and other shocks.
“Despite high awareness of safety measures, almost a quarter of respondents do not have sufficient soap to wash their hands.
“In the baseline, soap and cleaning supplies were the most commonly needed items, and most families confirmed that they were able to purchase soap when needed.
“In June however, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of households did not have sufficient soap to wash their hands and about seven per cent of households also reported insufficient access to water for handwashing.
“Poorer households were more likely to have insufficient access to soap and water to wash their hands.”
In its study, households faced a lack of water for drinking and washing hands mainly due either to disruption of supply or failure to reach the water source.
A summary reveals that 28.4 percent of households cannot afford to wash their hands with water while 78.8 percent cannot afford to wash their hands with soap.
“However, a large share of households also reported that they could not afford to buy sufficient supplies of water (17 per cent for drinking water and 28 per cent for handwashing water).”
Ahead of the surge in coronavirus cases in Nigeria, in some areas access to water was a concern. Many people drive miles to get water, and are left with polluted water in most situations, usually from a lake or river.
According to a report of the Joint Monitoring Programme of the United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) titled “Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2000-2017” One in three people worldwide has no access to clean drinking water.
The study reveals that 69 million Nigerians don’t have access to clean water and 19 million people have to travel long distances to get contaminated water from lakes, streams and rivers.
