By Ndidichukwu Odoh
Nasarawa Goro also known as Daban Fura in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, is one of the hard-to-reach communities in Nigeria where water is valued more than gold and diamond. Some communities in the world dig holes to get gold and diamonds, but the people of Nasarawa Goro could dig even deeper during dry season just to get drinking water.
“we have to dig to get drinking water, each time the water dries up, we dig further till we get to the water” says mallam Isa Yakubu a member of the community.
In this community the dry season comes with more suffering both for the adults and children. The adults are unable to farm or sale their farm produce as their major source of income. The children are exposed to more diseases from the harsh weather and consumption of dirty water from the hole.
While they patiently wait for the rainy season, Mallam Isa is optimistic that they could make more earnings during the next raining season to survive the harsh economic situation in their community.
“We only enjoy water when the rain starts falling, there is no borehole, no electricity , we trek for four hours to get to the nearest health center” said Aisha Adamu who also narrated how she lost her three year old baby to cholera in 2016.
Like Nasarawa Goro, Tsaduko community, Tunga Magaji a Fulani settlement in Shiroro Local Government and Sandoko settlement in Agaie Local government share similar stories. Most Nigerian communities also suffer the same water scarcity problem as recent estimate by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) suggests that over 69 million Nigerians do not have access to safe water.
Access to safe drinking water remains a challenge to majority of Nigerians, especially those living in the rural areas. The recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), conducted by the Government of Nigeria in 2016/17, indicates that about 40 per cent of households and about 69 million people, do not have access to clean water sources. In the rural areas, 19 million people walk long distances to collect unsafe water from lakes, streams and rivers.
Children without access to safe water are more likely to die in infancy and throughout childhood from waterborne diseases. Diarrhea remains the leading cause of death among children under five years of age in Nigeria. Waterborne diseases also contribute to stunting. A stunted child is shorter than she or he could have been and will never be able to reach her or his full cognitive potential. Lack of safe water and sanitation also makes children vulnerable to other threats beyond health. Many children in rural areas spend hours daily collecting water, missing out on the opportunity to go to school.
“Improving water and sanitation services, as well as basic hygiene practices in Nigeria, calls for a strong commitment from all partners – the government, the civil society, the private sector and communities”, said Zaid Jurji, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, UNICEF Nigeria, on International World Water Day. “For Nigeria to achieve the global goal of providing access to safe water for every citizen by 2030, it needs to make water, together with sanitation and hygiene, a national priority. This goal is closely linked with three key results for the country – good health, environment sustainability and economic prosperity.”
UNICEF, in collaboration with the Federal, State and Local Governments, has provided safe water during the past five years to over 8 million Nigerians living in rural areas.
The wardhead of Tunga Magaji Mallam Mohammad lsa in an interview with journalists at Tunga magaji Fulani settlement in shiroro local government Niger state commended UNICEF and the Canadian Government for medical support given to the hard-to-reach communities in Niger state. He also called on the UNICEF, and Niger government to assist his community with a good source of water, primary school and road as their only source of water is drying off.
He noted that they find it difficult to get to the nearest Health Facility which is usually about seven to ten kilometers, of bad road that can only be accessed by donkeys or motorcycle due to nature of the road. This he said also makes it difficult for health care workers to visit the community.
Also speaking in an interview the team leader of medical team Mallam Yakatu said the hard to reach, community medical outreach is supported by UNICEF with the sole aim of eradicating Polio but due to the overwhelming medical challenge in hard to reach communities of the state the program is providing various forms of medical support to Men, women and children and high prone cases are referred, to tertiary hospitals for adequate attention.
Safe water is a right, not a priviledge -for every Nigerian Child, the country as a matter of urgency must find proactive measures to solve the rather unfortunate water problems in Nigeria, to protect the country’s children against water borne diseases which eventually lead to death of children like the pathetic death of Aisha’s three year old daughter.
