The Lagos State Government has launched the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) policy 2023, to effectively harness and promote access to clean and safe water in commemoration of World Water Day at an event organised by the USAID/Nigeria Lagos Urban Water Sanitation and Hygiene (LUWASH) Activity in collaboration with the Lagos state government through the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. The event brought together sector stakeholders from the academia, state and federal government, CSOs, media, WASH professional bodies and community leaders on 21 March 2024 in Ikeja. This year’s theme, “Water for Peace’ acknowledges the critical role water plays in reducing conflict within and across communities.

Unveiling the policy, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu represented by the Commissioner of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab noted that water is a powerful force for fostering peace and cooperation among communities and individuals. According to Sanwo-Olu, in our pursuit of water security and sustainability we must embrace the spirit of inclusivity and equity, we must ensure that individuals regardless of their backgrounds, status, colour, circumstances, race or religion have access to clean water as this will bring unity, progress to our societies. The governor stated that the policy which was developed with technical support from USAID provides regulations and guidelines to achieve the state objectives in line with SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation while noting that the WASH policy will now serve as a guiding framework in the journey towards ensuring universal access to clean and quality water.

The Chief Party Officer of LUWASH, James Racicot in his welcome address noted that USAID/Nigeria LUWASH Activity is to strengthen governance and institutional arrangements to deliver improved WASH services, improve the performance of public and private WASH service providers, increase access to safe and sustainable water services, and increase household access to safe and sustainable sanitation and improve the quality of source water. Racicot spoke on the implemented 5-year activity that will increase the availability, quality and use of safe water and sanitation services and improve the governance and sustainable management of associated sector institutions in Lagos state. Racicot also stated that LUWASH has supported the Lagos state government in developing the revised Lagos State Water Supply and Sanitation Policy which has been approved by the Lagos State Council.

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Prof. Joseph Utsev represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Shehu Aliyu Shinkafi in his statement noted that water can bring communities together and could also cause conflict when it becomes scarce. Shinkafi urged all stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to providing accessible clean water to everyone regardless of background.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu commended the collaboration of USAID/Nigeria (LUWASH) and all other stakeholders in Lagos state for their dedication to improving water access and sanitation in Lagos while imploring all involved to keep doing the good work to bring a positive change in the easy access of water in the state.

Rose Yusuf-Kaisar
programmes@wfm917
Women Radio 91.7