Health
2.3b People Lack Access to Safe Toilets, 892m do Open Defecation
By Dipo Olowookere
A global leader in the housing and building industry, LIXIL Group, has promised to improve access to sanitation for 100 million people by 2020.
This pledge is coming as the world makes effort to assist the approximately 2.3 billion people who lack access to safe and sanitary toilets.
LIXIL Group Corporation, which endorsed a joint declaration with the World Toilet Organization, Saraya Co Ltd, and the ANA BLUE WING Program on sanitation and hygiene, said it was committed to providing safe toilets to people across the globe.
The declaration outlines their joint commitment to support the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): Ensure access to water and sanitation for all. The declaration was announced at an event in Tokyo to mark the World Toilet Day.
Out of the 2.3 billion people without access to safe and sanitary toilets, around 892 million people are forced to practice open defecation.
Every day, 800 children under five years old die from diarrheal diseases due to unclean water or poor sanitary conditions.
According to a survey conducted by LIXIL Group and Oxford Economics, the economic impact of poor sanitation amounted to $223 billion annually as of 2015.
As part of the declaration, LIXIL Group, the World Toilet Organization, Saraya, and the ANA BLUE WING Program believe that in order to realize SDG 6, affordable and sustainable innovations and solutions must be brought to market, and that Japan has an important role to play owing to its unique and advanced toilet culture.
The World Toilet Organization, LIXIL Group, Saraya, and the ANA BLUE WING Program will utilize their accumulated knowledge and expertise to promote activities aimed at resolving sanitation issues around the world.
Speaking at the Tokyo event, World Toilet Organization founder and CEO, Jack Sim, said, “Toilets are culture. With good toilet culture, behaviour change will come. Japan has successfully exported many aspects of its culture to the world, for example manga, Japanese food, kaizen; now is the time for Japan’s toilet culture.
“Today’s declaration is the first step. We call upon others in Japan to join this movement. This will bring many benefits to those in the world who lack proper sanitation, and also enhance Japan’s soft power.”
LIXIL Group Executive Officer and Senior Managing Director, Jin Montesano, said, “At LIXIL we believe that access to safe and hygienic sanitation is a basic human right, and that the knowledge and technologies exist to tackle this problem.
“We are committed to playing our part to bring innovative and sustainable solutions to market, such as the SATO range of affordable toilet products, and enhancing coordination with other Japanese stakeholders in line with today’s declaration.”
As a global leader in sanitary ware and water technology, LIXIL Group has pledged to improve access to sanitation for 100 million people by 2020.
To achieve this, the company has established a dedicated business called Social Sanitation Initiatives that is developing and bringing to market innovative technologies aimed at the base of the pyramid.
Among these are the SATO range of affordable toilet solutions, which are already trusted and used by more than six million people in over 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
As part of its efforts to safeguard public health in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has strengthened its regulatory framework for blood and blood products.
A statement signed on Thursday by the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that to achieve its goal, the agency will collaborate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to establish a robust regulatory framework that promotes the availability of safe, quality-assured and efficacious blood and blood products, while strengthening public confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
NAFDAC said it intends to partner with government institutions, healthcare providers, blood establishments, development partners and other stakeholders for the robust oversight.
Mrs Adeyeye disclosed that already, her organisation has received the support of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate.
According to her, NAFDAC has been given the mandate to regulate blood and blood products in line with global best practices and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that these products be subject to oversight by National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) for medicines.
She said blood and blood products are classified as essential medicines and must be consistently available with assured quality, safety and affordability, stressing that the aim is to protect patients throughout the blood transfusion chain.
Effective regulatory oversight will support the quality and safety of blood products from donor assessment and collection through testing, processing, storage, transportation and use, the NAFDAC chief noted.
Several African countries, including Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Rwanda, have already established regulatory oversight of blood and blood products by their NRAS, she added.
Mrs Adeyeye pointed out that NAFDAC’s renewed regulatory preparedness builds on its broader transformation into a modern, science-based regulatory authority.
Already, it has attained WHO Maturity Level 3, completed WHO Global Benchmarking ML3 re-assessment, obtained WHO prequalification for its drug laboratory, and established internationally accredited laboratory and quality management systems. These capabilities provide a strong foundation for the effective regulation of blood and blood products.
As part of its preparedness, NAFDAC has established a dedicated Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Registration and Regulation Directorate to oversee the registration and regulation of these products.
The agency established a Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Laboratory Services many years ago, but became a Directorate in 2024, responsible for quality control, including laboratory testing and lot release, while the Directorate of Evaluation and Research provides oversight of Good Manufacturing Practices. An ultra-modern laboratory facility is also being developed to further strengthen its capacity for the assessment and quality control of vaccines and biologics.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An organisation known as GoMed Nigeria is offering free reproductive health services to Nigerian students through a digital self-care platform.
This is being delivered through a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Lagos State Government.
The pilot scheme will be available to students of the University of Lagos. They will enjoy easier and more private access to essential health products, accurate information, and professional support.
Young Nigerians face some of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and unmet need for contraception in the world.
Cost, distance, stigma, misinformation, and fears about confidentiality routinely stop students from seeking the products and guidance they need, with consequences that include unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted infections and interrupted education.
The self-care platform is designed to remove each of these barriers. Through the platform, students receive free contraceptives and other sexual and reproductive health commodities provided through the Lagos State Ministry of Health and UNFPA, exclusive discounts on health essentials, and fast, discreet delivery directly to campus and student hostels.
Students can also access trusted sexual and reproductive health information and services through UNFPA’s SoftLife 247 and U-Plan platforms. Through U-PLAN, they can chat directly with qualified Family Planning Service Providers to receive accurate information and address their concerns. They can also confidently engage with GoMed’s registered pharmacists for confidential, judgement-free guidance on medicines and other health products.
“Students should be able to get reliable health information and essential products without cost, distance or fear of judgement becoming barriers.
“This platform brings free sexual and reproductive health commodities, other affordable health products and professional guidance together, with discreet delivery directly to students on campus,” the chief executive of GoMed Nigeria, Mr Anthony Edeki, said.
Also speaking, UNFPA in Nigeria Resident Representative, Muriel Mafico, said, “As the UN agency mandated for “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”, we are committed to reducing preventable maternal deaths and addressing the unmet need for family planning, including by providing and overseeing access to life-saving commodities worldwide.
“Working alongside our partners, we’re helping roll out the digital Self-Care Platform—so that vital, life-changing information can reach more people, more easily. Together, we want to empower Nigeria’s next generation to make informed health choices and achieve stronger health outcomes and a brighter future.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A financing framework to accelerate the electrification of health facilities nationwide has been approved by the federal government.
The approval was announced at the third meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) of the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), a presidential programme jointly coordinated by the Federal Ministries of Power and Health and Social Welfare.
The committee was constituted to ensure reliable electricity in at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s health facilities by the end of 2027.
At the meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Mr Isiaq Salako, and co-chaired by the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, members of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) presented the recommendations under consideration.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Salako said the Steering Committee approved a financing framework to mobilise investment for healthcare electrification, alongside a facility energy management framework requiring participating hospitals to build sustainable systems for managing their energy infrastructure.
He said the committee also cleared eight (8) private sector proposals for further engagement, drawn from about 70 submissions received during the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Week in Lagos.
The Health Minister added that Energy Management Teams are already in place at federal tertiary hospitals, with state governments being encouraged to set up similar structures. The initiative will now be institutionalised through dedicated budgetary provisions and a full-time Project Coordination Unit to oversee implementation.
On his part, Mr Tegbe declared that the initiative must now move from announcements to actual project delivery.
Describing the NPHI as one of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s flagship programmes, he said the emphasis should shift towards commissioning completed projects that Nigerians can see for themselves, rather than further groundbreaking ceremonies and public messaging.
He emphasised the need for teaching hospitals, state hospitals, and primary healthcare centres to be fully energised, noting that the Rural Electrification Agency has already energised 5 Federal Teaching Hospitals and several other health facilities nationwide.
He also tied the initiative directly to patient outcomes, arguing that dependable power would end hospitals’ reliance on emergency generators, and pledged that the Ministry would continue to prioritise the initiative’s funding needs while ensuring value for money.
