As Nigeria observes the countdown to the 2026 World Water Day, a civil society organisation, Peace Point Development Foundation (PPDF), has called on the governments of Akwa Ibom and Cross River states to establish sustainable financing models for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects to ensure long-term implementation.
In a statement issued on Sunday, PPDF Coordinator Umo Isua-Ikoh linked the appeal to the 2026 global theme, ‘Water and Gender: Where Water Flows, Equality Grows’. He emphasised that the theme highlights the disproportionate burden on women and girls in water-scarce communities, where inadequate access to safe water undermines health, dignity, educational attainment, and economic prospects.
The Foundation expressed concern over the slow pace of project execution, noting that nearly a year after the approval of sanitation and hygiene facilities for several local government areas in Akwa Ibom—including Obot Akara, Ikono, Esit Eket, and Nsit Ubium—the projects remain uncommissioned. “Lack of safe and private sanitation facilities, particularly in communities, schools, and public spaces, continues to adversely affect women and girls,” the statement read.
While acknowledging positive steps by the Akwa Ibom State Government—such as the approval of a State WASH Policy, a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, an Open Defecation-Free (ODF) Roadmap, and the 2022 Water Sector Law—PPDF urged faster operationalisation. The organisation recommended mandating functional WASH departments in all local government areas and establishing independent regulatory bodies.
Further, PPDF called for inclusive sanitation infrastructure in schools and public spaces, timely release of allocated funds, and the consolidation of environmental health functions to improve coordination, waste mapping, and management. It also stressed the need for intensified grassroots sensitisation on hygiene practices and the achievement of ODF targets.
The appeal underscores the critical linkage between reliable water services and gender equality in Nigeria, where water collection duties often fall to women and girls. Sustainable financing and effective local governance are identified as pivotal to translating existing policies into tangible infrastructure that benefits vulnerable populations.
With World Water Day 2026 set to focus global attention on water and gender, PPDF’s statement presses state authorities to move from policy approval to concrete, well-funded action, ensuring that water security initiatives directly empower women and girls in the two states.
