Stakeholders seek stronger collaboration to bridge WASH gaps in Kaduna

By Mayen Etim, Kaduna

Stakeholders in Kaduna State’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector have called for stronger collaboration, improved coordination and increased community ownership to address persistent gaps in access to water, sanitation and hygiene services across the state.

The call was made at the end of a three-day first Joint Sector Review (JSR) workshop held at Bafra Hotel, Kaduna on Friday, bringing together officials from key ministries, departments and agencies, alongside development partners, supported by UNICEF.

Speaking at the workshop, Permanent Member of the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Jamil Haruna, said the state has about 4,150 primary schools, many of which still require improved WASH facilities.

Haruna, who represented the Executive Chairman of Kaduna SUBEB, Mohammed Mubarak, said the government had invested significantly in providing sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools but acknowledged that gaps still exist.

He noted that poor coordination among agencies and inadequate maintenance culture had remained major challenges affecting the sustainability of WASH projects.

“We have situations where agencies build facilities in schools without proper coordination, and maintenance becomes difficult. This workshop is important to stop duplication of projects and ensure effective collaboration among stakeholders,” he said.

According to him, agencies such as RUWASSA, SUBEB, the Primary Healthcare Board and UNICEF are now working together to develop standard measures for implementing and maintaining WASH facilities across schools and communities.

Haruna also stressed the importance of community participation in protecting public facilities, saying communities must see schools and WASH infrastructure as their collective responsibility rather than government property.

He explained that the state government had reconstituted School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) to strengthen community ownership and monitoring of schools and public facilities.

Also speaking, UNICEF Kaduna Field Office WASH Specialist, Theresa Pamma, said the workshop provided stakeholders an opportunity to review the current state of WASH services in Kaduna and identify areas requiring urgent intervention.

Pamma said participants assessed service levels across communities, schools and institutions, while also identifying available resources from government agencies, development partners, civil society groups and the private sector.

She expressed concern over the wide service gaps in the state, revealing that access to basic water supply in Kaduna currently stands at 45 per cent, sanitation access at 55 per cent, while hygiene practice remains at 31 per cent.

She added that sanitation coverage in schools across the North-West zone is only 30 per cent, while access to complete WASH services — including water supply, hygiene and sanitation stands at 17 per cent.

“The gaps are quite wide, and we need collective action to reduce them so that more people can access WASH services, improve their health and enjoy better living standards,” she said.

Pamma further noted that coordination within the sector weakened after the Kaduna State Ministry of Water Resources was disbanded years ago, adding that efforts are now underway to rebuild institutional collaboration.

Director of Water Supply at Kaduna Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Joel La’akih Yanet, said the workshop focused on strategies for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6.1 and 6.2 on access to clean water and sanitation.

Yanet disclosed that Kaduna had recorded some progress, including the certification of 10 local government areas as open defecation-free.

He, however, noted that Nigeria failed to meet the initial 2025 target for achieving the SDG goals, leading to an extension of the deadline to 2030.

According to him, stakeholders are working towards strengthening funding mechanisms for the WASH sector through national and state WASH funds as outlined in the National Action Plan for revitalising the sector.

He said more than 48 institutions have so far benefited from WASH facilities in the state.

Yanet added that the workshop would end with a communiqué highlighting key challenges and recommendations to be presented to the Kaduna State Governor.

He commended the governor for pledging N100 billion to support the WASH sector, alongside N16 billion earmarked under the ongoing urban and rural water supply projects in the state.