…says 78 Nigerian children risk water related diseases
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
In commemoration of the 2023 World Water Day, stakeholders in the Water Ministry have said that all hands must be on deck to achieve the targeted sustainable development goal 6- Water and sanitation for all by 2030.
 Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu at the opening ceremony of the  World Water Day theme”Accelerating Change” in Abuja, described water as the lifeblood of every economy.
Suleiman who was represented by Agnes Aneke Director monitoring and Evaluation  lamented that water which is very important to the development of every economy and livelihood is constantly polluted by poor drainages and other related factors, adding that partnership is the only remedy to the current state.
“From health and nutrition to education and infrastructure, water is vital to every aspect of human survival and well-being, and the economic development and prosperity of every nation. But drop by drop, this precious lifeblood is being poisoned by pollution and drained by vampiric overuse, with water demand expected to exceed supply by 40 per cent by decade’s end,he said
Chief WASH Nigeria Jane Bevan on her part, lamented that more than 78: million Nigerian children are currently suffering from poor water related diseases.
Bevan stressed that this event an opportunity to increase the action for water courage in the country  as Nigeria is among the countries in Sub Saharan Africa with the heaviest burden of childbirth diseases caused by  inadequate water.
” I want to reiterate that this really an opportunity to have a call to action for increased water coverage in Nigeria. It’s estimated that 78 million children in Nigeria are suffering from poor water access at the moment, and it is the children who suffer.
And Nigeria is one of the 10 countries in Sub Saharan Africa that carry the heaviest burden of childbirth from diseases caused by  inadequate wash, diseases such as cholera. It kills the children most and a third of the children most in this country do not have access to safe water.
According to her, one third of all of Nigerian children do not have access to  clean water at home while two third lack access to basic sanitation.
“Together with the issues of accelerating climate changes and the extremes of weather that we’re seeing with the increased flooding, storms, rainfall, the increased temperatures as well which cause accelerating pathogen reduction, which means we have more cholera than in the past.
So we need to do more not less for the children of Nigeria we owe it to them to really come together, invest more for water and do our best to reach everybody with the same portrait sanitary sanitation
Fred kafeero of the Food and Agricultural Organization( FAO) added that there won’t be adequate food supply for livelihood without clean water.