Nigeria
Like many countries surveyed, Nigeria made nominal progress improving access to basic hand hygiene service from 2015 to 2020, when coverage increased 0.27% to 33.2%. There is no national policy for HH, and the government has struggled to make HH a priority. Currently, Nigeria scores 0.90 and 0.44 on the HHAFT Tracker and Assessment’s 4-point scale, respectively. However, Nigeria leveraged existing multi-stakeholder coordination mechanism, The National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS), a multi-sectoral coordination body, to develop a HH4A roadmap. Despite this important step, key gaps, especially around the policy environment, M&E, capacity development, and financing, may impede meaningful HH progress.
Tracker
| Milestone | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Prepare for Action | 1.60 |
| Analyse the Situation / Assess the Need | 1.75 |
| Prioritise Actions | 0.80 |
| Execute Plans | 0.33 |
| Monitor, Evaluate and Course Correct | 0.00 |
| Average | 0.90 |
Under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources (with support from Federal Ministries) Nigeria launched the Hand Hygiene for All Roadmap in September 2022. Creation of the Roadmap engaged HH stakeholders and provided an opportunity to clarify roles and responsibilities. The strategy provides a framework for the sector, including development of action and sector-based work plans, indicators, monitoring systems, capacity development, and financing. Assessment of parameters tied to execution should be reserved for after further sectoral development.
Assessment
| Parameter | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Governance | 0.20 |
| Financing | 1.00 |
| Data and Information | 0.50 |
| Capacity Development | 0.00 |
| Innovation | 0.50 |
| Average | 0.44 |
The preparedness of the HH sector is a major stride, but the weak policy environment hinders progress. Although there is a coordinating mechanism and a lead ministry specified, there are no formal institutional arrangements and no priority settings or sectors. Also, since the coordination mechanism is not hygiene-specific, it remains to be seen whether HH will receive due attention. While the lack of an M&E framework is a gap, national baseline data exist, which will be valuable in creating national indicators and targets. Financing is also a critical gap. An overall budget for achieving HH4A is proposed – a key first step – but not approved, and no money has been allocated. In addition, promotion of the private sector, which will provide funding as well as innovation, has yet to commence.
