Water deficit, at varying degrees, is one of the major challenges confronting many rural communities in Nigeria. According to UNICEF, “Poor access to improved water and sanitation in Nigeria remains a major contributing factor to high morbidity and mortality rates among children under five. The use of contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea which leads to deaths of more than 70,000 children under five annually”. Unfortunately, Clean water is seen as a luxury among Nigerians, especially for those living in rural/marginalized communities.
During our community mapping session, our team discovered a community called Kaida, a rural community in Gwagwalada LGA, Abuja that had challenges accessing clean water, not because there is a total absence of clean water, but due to insufficient water sources and infrastructure to serve the whole community.
Our team embarked on a preliminary visit to get first-hand information of the situation facing the people of Kaida and were received by the village head (Yakubu Magaji).
In an interview with Yakubu Magaji, he confirmed that the community has only one functioning borehole serving over 2,300 people with about four non-functional boreholes including one drilled by the local government. Every morning, women and children have to wake up very early to join a queue at the borehole facility spending valuable hours to get a bucket of water for the family. The time spent at the borehole affects farming productivity and children’s schooling as many of them are forced to attend school late.
We took a tour of the community accompanied by Mohammed Yusuf (Village Head’s Secretary) and some members of the community, and we confirmed these claims, in addition to that, their school has no water facility and their toilet system is in bad condition, children now defecate in the open, these possess several risks especially for the girl-child.
This is the prevailing situation at Kaida community despite several reports and complaints that have been filed by representatives at the local government secretariat. There have also been visits by several organisations, that have noticed the plight, of the community, to discuss issues surrounding health and water challenges. However, those have not yielded any long-term solutions.
To ensure that the people of Kaida have access to adequate water supply, We are activating a campaign #KaidaH2o to amplify the voices of the people and to also build their capacity for engaging the government and demand-responsive and swift action in their community.
This is the prevailing situation at Kaida community despite several reports and complaints that have been filed by representatives at the local government secretariat. There have also been visits by several organisations, that have noticed the plight, of the community, to discuss issues surrounding health and water challenges. However, those have not yielded any long-term solutions.
To ensure that the people of Kaida have access to adequate water supply, We are activating a campaign #KaidaH2o to amplify the voices of the people and to also build their capacity for engaging the government and demand-responsive and swift action in their community.