Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd. inaugurated the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in Idumagbo and Oyingbo communities in Lagos State on Tuesday, aimed at ending open defecation by 2025.
The project is one of the social development initiatives powered by the 1 million euro donation made by NBC’s parent company, the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company.
Speaking at the event, Mrs. Soromidayo George, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, NBC, said the company had a long-standing history of pioneering sustainable development projects as part of its commitments to give back to communities.
George said the projects were embarked upon to provide support to thousands of people in Nigeria who lacked access to clean water and a good sanitary environment for healthy living.
“Our aim is for us to be able to provide support to thousands of people in Nigeria with basic needs, which include access to clean water, a good sanitary environment, and toilet facilities to have a healthy environment,” she said.
She added that the company set up the facilities to support the federal government’s drive to eliminate open defecation by 2025.
George said it was the first in a series of project inaugurations that would be done across the nation, noting that Lagos State is highly privileged and close to the company’s heart.
She said the company was working hand-in-hand with the local governments, the Ministry of Environment, and various implementing partners to ensure that Nigerians lived healthy lives without cholera.
George implored the leaders of the communities to ensure proper use of the facilities and their sustainability.
She also enjoined them to educate members of their communities in order to end open defecation in Lagos State.
Also speaking, Mr. Jerome Oyebanji, Corporate Affairs and Community Partnerships Manager, NBC, said the initiative was to support the national agenda to end open defecation by 2025.
Oyebanji, who described the target as a tall order, noted that it would only be achieved through partnerships by improving public health in the country.
He said the company partnered with OPS-WASH (Organised Private Sector in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) to build a 10-room toilet facility equipped with a borehole, an overhead tank, water taps, a biodigester, and sanitary facilities.
“This is an enabler, an enabler for economic activities because we strategically located the facilities in various places where we have markets,” said Oyebanji.
He added that the facilities would support economic activities as well as tourism.
Oyebanji said apart from providing clean water and good hygiene services for over one million Nigerians, OPS-WASH would be leveraging the sustained operation of the facilities for a data collection exercise aimed at increasing SDG 6 investments.
Mrs. Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, Director of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability at NBC, said SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) represented Nigeria’s biggest development challenge, with 48 million Nigerians left without access to safe sanitation.
Onyemelukwe said the company would continue to make a difference in different communities across the country.
“Our mission is to refresh the world and make a difference, and why we are here today is to actually experience the making a difference path.
“It cannot be overemphasized that this kind of facility needs to be duplicated in multiple places in Lagos so that people can have access to clean water and sanitation.
“We recognize that water is a priority to everyone and for us as a company because it is essential to life, essential to our beverages, and essential to our communities, and we must have it in a sustainable manner,” she said.
She said the company had remained consistent in enhancing the lives of Nigerians for over seven decades since it started operations in the country.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Dr. Omobolaji Gaji, said the project was in line with SDG 6 and part of the commitment of the NBC to give back to society.
Over 2.2 billion people worldwide lack access to good sanitation, according to the Permanent Secretary’s representative, Mrs. Omoyeni Balogun, of the Sanitation Department.
He said people practiced open defecation, especially in developing countries, which put health at risk, leading to the spread of diseases.
“Sanitation is an essential starting point and a key weapon to fight disease, poverty, and degradation of the vital environment.
“Lagos, with a population of over 22 million people, was reported in 2018 to have 1.8 million people practicing open defecation on a daily basis.
“The state currently has about 1,500 public toilets, including privately built ones, and this is grossly insufficient considering the continuous influx of people into Lagos State,” he said.
According to him, the state needs over 4,000 toilets, considering the population, in addition to the 1,500 needed to address the issue of open defecation.
The permanent secretary said a new strategy had been born to provide a sustainable solution and innovation to public toilet design.
Mrs. Oluwatoyin Agbenla, the Zonal Director, South West/Federal Control, Federal Ministry of Environment, said sanitation was crucial to the development and survival of the country.
Agbenla said WASH was declared a federal and state emergency in 2018, with the target that open defecation would come to an end across the country.
She commended the NBC for partnering with the government to end open defecation.
Agbenla urged the community leaders to ensure proper use of the facilities for years to come.
