The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has sought the support of stakeholders in eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Nigeria. Mr Monday Johnson, UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) specialist, made the call in Lagos at a two-day media dialogue on ending open defecation in Nigeria and eradicating NTDs. According to him, NTDs are diverse group of conditions caused by a variety of pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, toxins) and associated with devastating health, social and economic consequences. Referencing the Nigeria master plan for NTDs 2023-2027, Johnson said that the country had the highest NTD burden in Africa, with more than 200 million people at risk of at least one of the diseases. Johnson, however, said that WASH was critical in the prevention and care for all the 17 NTDs. The UNICEF WASH expert noted that NTDs were associated with poverty and prevalent in areas that had poor sanitation, inadequate or no safe water sources and substandard housing conditions. Johnson said that NTDs and poor access to WASH contributed to a vicious cycle of poverty and disease, adding that the disease could lead to catastrophic health expenditure and reduced economic productivity. He said the goal of the programme was to progressively reduce morbidity, disability, and mortality due to the disease using integrated and cost-effective approaches with the view to eliminating NTDs in Nigeria by 2030. Johnson noted that to eliminate NTDs by 2030, there was a need for behavioural change among the people by embracing the use of toilets and avoiding open defecation. He said that achieving open defecation-free Nigeria should include the use of any form of improved toilets that prevent exposure of faeces to the environment, to move up the sanitation ladder. He advised people to always cultivate the habit of disposing of faeces (human and animal) in the toilet and avoid urinating in the river, lake or pond, among other measures. In his remarks, Mr Dare Olatunji, Sanitation and Hygiene Manager, Water Aid, said adequate provision of potable water and clean hygiene were important in achieving open defecation-free Nigeria. Mrs Chizoma Opara, a Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, said that only 18 per cent of Nigerians, that is 37 million people, have access to safely managed sanitation services. Opara, who is also the National Coordinator of the Clean Nigeria Campaign, noted that the national vision was that by 2030, every Nigerian would have access to safely managed sanitation, and hygiene facilities in cities, small towns and rural communities. Source: News Agency of Nigeria