From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The federal government and stakeholders in the water sector have lamented the increased threats of climate change hazards on water facilities across the country.
The stakeholders made this known at the Assessment of Validation Workshop on Climate Change Resilient, Water Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Facilities Designs, specifications and drawings in Abuja.
Declaring the workshop open, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Mr. Richard Pheelangwah, lamented that the current WASH Facilities are exposed and highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
“The current WASH facilities are highly exposed and vulnerable to climate change. For example, the northern part of Nigeria experiences worsening drought conditions and declining groundwater levels, while the central and southern regions suffer from irregular rainfall and flash floods,” he added.
Mr Pheelangwah added that the validation meeting will aid to arrive at producing technical designs of WASH facilities that will meet global standards and be climate resilient.
“With the recent Climate Change effects, these technical designs will facilitate the construction of durable and sustainable WASH facilities in communities and institutions,” the Permanent Secretary stressed.
The Permanent Secretary reiterated that climate change remained the most profound challenge facing humanity at the moment and Nigeria must learn to live with it.
“This validation meeting is to decide on how to produce technical designs of our WASH facilities that will meet global standards and are climate resilient, gender appropriate and inclusive of people with disabilities,” he noted
He added that Nigeria has made commitments to achieving universal access to sustainable Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services for all by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6 targets.
“Water availability per capita is gradually decreasing, water tables are getting deeper, and WASH facilities are at risk of damage due to floods, hence, strategic actions are needed to make the sector resilient to climate changes with communities taking the lead.”
“WASH facilities are threatened by climate change and must be resilient to support building wider community resilience and health resilience. Climate threats to WASH facilities are substantial. Increased flooding will damage infrastructure, degrade catchments, and contaminate water supplies.”
“Floods will lead to overflowing pit latrines, tanks, and sewers, and by-passing of wastewater treatment works as well as bring polluted runoff from agricultural land, cities, and industries; droughts will reduce water availability and degrade source water quality,” he emphasised.
In his welcome address, the Director, Supply and Support Services in the Ministry, Mr. Mukaili Babarinde, who said climate change effects require collaborative effort added that the validation will create space for stakeholders to review and suggest technical designs that are climate change Resilient.
“We all know that climate Change has become a threat globally and our current WASH facilities are highly vulnerable to climate change. It is based on this premise that the Department of Water Supply and Support Services, in collaboration with UNICEF had established the need to review and revise some of the existing WASH Facilities Designs and Technical Specifications as a result of the global changing climate,” he stressed
In his presentation, the WASH Manager, UNICEF Mr Chironjibi Tiwari who stated that water facilities are one of the most valuable to climate change challenges, stressed the need for a proper review and revision of some existing WASH facilities to meet the global climate change.
The General Manager, Adamawa State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Mr Emmanuel Esly, added that the WASH sector must join hands together to come up with solutions to the current challenges being faced by the sector.
