By: Rasheed Yusuf, Director of Public Policy, Advocacy, Innovation, Research and Development (Impacts and Partnerships)
For most people, the toilet is an everyday fixture used and forgotten in seconds. Yet for nearly half of Nigeria’s population, the story is starkly different. Over 48 million Nigerians still practice open defecation, exposing communities to preventable infections, contaminating water sources, and undermining decades of progress in health, education, and development. This reality is not just a statistic; it is a national call to action.
On World Toilet Day 2025, the global theme “We’ll Always Need the Toilet” reminds us that sanitation is not merely a facility. It is a foundation of dignity, safety, and public health. Toilets are as essential to human wellbeing as clean water, education, and food security. No society—no matter how technologically advanced or economically ambitious—can afford to ignore the sanitation systems that protect its people.
Yet sanitation often remains invisible until it fails.
Sanitation Is a Human Right and a National Imperative
Inadequate sanitation fuels diarrheal disease, malnutrition, stunting, and countless preventable deaths, especially among children under five. Without clean and safe toilets in schools, many learners—particularly adolescent girls—miss classes or drop out entirely. Women and girls risk harassment and violence when forced to seek privacy outdoors. Families lose income when recurrent illness disrupts their stability.
Sanitation is not an infrastructure issue alone; it is a gender issue, a health issue, a safety issue, and a development issue. It is a human rights issue.
If Nigeria is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 — “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” — we must reframe sanitation as essential, not optional; urgent, not aspirational.
Youth Leadership: The Untapped Power in Our Classrooms
The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), through its long-standing partnership with Reckitt Nigeria, has witnessed firsthand how children can transform their environment when empowered with knowledge and leadership skills. Through the Dettol Hygiene Quest Programme, more than 400,000 individuals have been reached with interactive hygiene education delivered across 716 schools, 468 communities, and 36 healthcare facilities in Lagos, Kwara, and FCT.
These are not passive lessons. Children are engaged as Hygiene Quest Ambassadors—leaders who champion cleanliness, encourage peers to maintain hygienic toilets, and influence families to adopt better sanitation habits at home. Every demonstration, every Clean Toilet Campaign, and every student-led awareness walk is a reminder that behaviour change starts with education and ownership.
This year, over 300 schools will commemorate World Toilet Day by mobilising thousands of young Nigerians to advocate for clean, functional, and safe toilets. These children are not just participating in an event—they are shaping the sanitation culture of tomorrow.
Sanitation in Schools: Where the Future Is Built
Schools are among the most strategic places to strengthen sanitation systems.
Clean toilets support:
- School attendance, especially among girls
- Disease prevention, reducing absenteeism
- Positive hygiene behaviour formation carried into adulthood
- Environmental stewardship, as children model and advocate for better practices
Yet many schools across Nigeria face chronic sanitation challenges—from inadequate toilet-to-student ratios to lack of cleaning supplies, water scarcity, or weak maintenance systems. A school without a functional toilet is a school where dignity is compromised, learning is disrupted, and health is threatened. Investing in school sanitation is investing in national development.
Clean Nigeria Is Possible — but It Requires Shared Responsibility
The Federal Government’s Clean Naija Initiative: Use the Toilet Campaign remains one of the country’s most ambitious sanitation commitments. Progress has been encouraging, but the scope of the challenge demands deeper partnerships, stronger local ownership, and sustained behavioural change efforts.
To accelerate sanitation outcomes, Nigeria must:
- Strengthen WASH-in-Schools Policies
Every school must have clear, enforceable standards for toilet access, cleanliness, security, and accessibility for children with disabilities. - Prioritize Maintenance, Not Just Construction
A broken toilet is a missed opportunity. Maintenance budgets and school-based management committees must include sanitation as a priority. - Scale Behaviour-Change Education Nationwide
Infrastructure must be supported by consistent hygiene education, especially at the primary and junior secondary school levels. - Mobilize Youth Leaders as Agents of Change
Hygiene ambassadors have demonstrated the ability to mobilize entire communities. They are a national asset. - Improve Gender-Sensitive Sanitation Facilities
Girls need safe, private, and well-maintained toilets—especially during menstruation.
WBFA’s Commitment: A Future Where Every Child Has a Safe Toilet
For WBFA, sanitation is not a seasonal message. It is woven into our maternal health programmes, our early-childhood interventions, our school hygiene work, and our community engagements. Through partnerships with Reckitt, frontline workers, schools, and state governments, we remain committed to creating a culture of hygiene and sanitation that protects every mother, every child, and every family.
World Toilet Day 2025 is not just a commemoration—it is a reaffirmation of our commitment to support Nigeria’s sanitation agenda through scalable education, community engagement, and youth leadership.
A Toilet Is More Than a Facility — It Is a Future
As we mark World Toilet Day, we must remember that a toilet is not a luxury. It is a necessity. It stands at the intersection of health, dignity, safety, and human development. As long as we need to live with dignity, protect our children, and build a prosperous Nigeria, we will always need the toilet.
We owe it to the next generation to make sure every child, every family, and every community has one.