Only 37% Nigerians have access to clean water

NOIPolls has revealed that Nigerians seriously lack access to clean water.

The poll also said 50% of Nigerians rely on boreholes as their only source of clean drinking water.

It was also revealed that only 34% of Nigerians treat their water before drinking it. It lays emphasis on the need for a commercial water treatment company.

At this year’s World Water Day held on Friday, March 22, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasized how every area of our lives depend on water for sustenance, saying that water is human right hence nobody should be denied it.

In marking 2019 World Water Day, NOIPolls in collaboration with WaterAid, showed result of a poll conducted in 2018 on the access of Nigerians to water, clean water, and the challenges in getting it.

Photo credit: NOIPolls

The first finding from the poll carried out showed that borehole still remains the only source of water to many Nigerians, as 50% use it for getting drinking water and 37% depend on it for domestic water use.

It also shows that most Nigerians are the sole providers of their water as against the international standard where it should be government’s responsibility to provide water.

Another sad thing revealed from the poll is that boreholes are not safe sources of water as they exposed underground pollutants E-coli which could cause diarrhoeal and increase child mortality rate.

It was found out that 16% believe borehole to be a good source of water, while 34% treat their water before drinking and 49% adopt boiling as a form of treatment.

Only 37% have access to clean water while lamenting that it is a difficult task and it impacts on their spending and health.

The World Bank once said that access to clean water goes a long way in reducing child mortality rate, no wonder around 600,000 children under age five die annually from diseases related to lack of clean water.

The poll also revealed that out of the 50% that said there access to clean water is from the use of borehole, those from south-south region of the country are most of the people who confirmed this.

Other means of getting clean water for Nigerian, it was found out, are tanker truck/water vendors, protected dug well, and piped water.

Out of the 66% Nigerians that do not treat their water, the north-east region has the highest number of 73% people whose water is untreated before drinking.

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