ABUJA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The situation of sanitation in Nigeria is alarming, as the West African nation ranks third among the countries of the world where people still practice open defecation, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday.
UNICEF's chief of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Nigeria Zaid Jurji said one-third of the country's population still practices open defecation.
"It does not go well to know that open defecation is being practiced widely in various communities in a strong country like Nigeria.
"So, we need to do something about that beyond the traditional approach to improve on the situation," Jurji said.
The UNICEF official urged local leaders and other stakeholders to intensify efforts toward enlightening people on the dangers associated with the ugly trend.
According to him, eradicating open defecation would also assist to improve sanitation, being one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He also noted that eradicating open defecation would assist to reduce diseases by about 50 percent.
