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WaterAid Nigeria has warned that the persistent lack of safe, gender-inclusive toilets and water facilities across schools, markets and health centres continues to endanger women and girls, exposing them to gender-based violence, school absenteeism and poor health outcomes.

Speaking on behalf of the Country Director, Evelyn Mere, WaterAid’s Head of Advocacy, Policy and Communication, Kolawole Banwo, linked the absence of decent sanitation to a chain of social and health challenges faced by women and girls in several communities across northern states.

Mere who spoke at the launch of activities under WaterAid’s EMP0WER HER Project, funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada, recounted field experiences showing how inadequate toilets force girls out of school and limit women’s participation in social and economic activities.

She narrated how, in one northern community, girls stayed away from school despite new classrooms being built. Investigations revealed that the absence of toilets pushed girls to remain at home, as neither they nor their parents considered the facilities dignifying or safe enough.

“In another community, even though gender-segregated toilets had been built, women avoided them because the entrance exposed them to public view. Privacy matters. Safety matters,” she said.

Mere added that many women avoided health centres entirely because they feared open defecation, especially during labour or long hospital stays. This, she said, led many to rely on traditional birth attendants until complications became life-threatening.

She stressed that insecurity around water sources also amplified risks:

“When girls and women walk long distances to fetch water, they become vulnerable to attacks. Lack of water and toilets is not just an infrastructure issue; it is a protection and dignity issue.”

Under the Empower Her Project, WaterAid will improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities across 69 schools and 58 health centres in Katagum, Misau and Tafawa Balewa LGAs of Bauchi State. The initiative is expected to directly reach 708,161 people, including: 20,717 adolescent girls, and 15,357 adolescent boys.

She emphasised the inclusion of boys, noting that tackling gender-based violence must begin with reshaping boys’ perceptions of girls’ rights and dignity.

“The monster of gender-based violence often begins in adolescence—when a boy is socialised to think he is superior, and that girls can be treated as property,” Mere cautioned.

She highlighted the story of Habiba, a 19-year-old girl living with a disability, whose experience will be showcased as part of the programme’s impact reporting.

WaterAid thanked the Government of Canada for supporting a project that aligns with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, particularly its pillars on gender equality, human dignity, health, education, and nutrition.

Mere pledged continued collaboration with government and stakeholders at federal, state and local levels to ensure women and girls can “realise their rights and contribute maximally to community and national development.”

“We will continue to work with Global Affairs Canada and our partners to reinforce this message and ensure that every woman and girl has access to safe water, decent toilets and good hygiene,” she said.