AFRICA ( Commonwealth Union) _ Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene is crucial for the health and well-being of individuals. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to ensure “clean water and sanitation for all.”
However, many people in developing countries, particularly those in suburban and rural areas, still lack these essential services. It is widely believed that local governments can play a crucial role in expanding access to water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that only 29 percent of Nigerians have access to basic sanitation facilities, and only 63 percent have access to basic water services. Nigeria’s local government is its third tier of government, consisting of 774 units across the country’s 36 states. Local governments are typically responsible for providing vital services to residents and businesses in specific areas.
Empowering local governments is crucial to addressing these challenges and others that arise in daily life. Globally, local governments are responsible for delivering basic services, including water and sanitation, to their communities. However, they often face constraints due to limited resources, capacity, and technical expertise required for effective implementation of interventions to improve access to these services. To overcome these challenges, several strategies can be employed to empower local governments:
Capacity building: Enhancing the capacity of local governments is a critical strategy for empowerment. This can be achieved through training programs, workshops, and other capacity-building initiatives that equip local government officials with the necessary knowledge and skills to plan, implement, and monitor water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions effectively.
Partnerships: Collaborating with NGOs, private sector organizations, and other stakeholders can provide local governments with the resources and technical expertise needed for implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions. These partnerships can also help mobilize resources and raise awareness about the importance of improving access to these services.
Decentralization: Transferring responsibility for water and sanitation services to local governments can enhance their accountability and responsiveness to the communities they serve. Decentralization also provides local governments with greater control over resource allocation, enabling them to prioritize interventions based on community needs.
Technological utilization: Utilizing technology can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions. For example, mobile technology can be used to collect data on water sources and sanitation facilities, monitor water quality, and track the implementation of interventions.
Community participation: Involving communities in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of interventions is crucial for their success. By empowering communities, local governments can promote ownership and ensure interventions are tailored to meet their specific needs.
Transforming the operations of local governments in Nigeria will require significant investment of resources. The exact amount needed will depend on factors such as the size and population of each local government, specific interventions required, and the current level of capacity and resources available. Experts suggest that achieving meaningful change would necessitate consistent investment over at least the next decade.
To begin this transformation, granting full autonomy to local governments is essential. Local government autonomy refers to the degree of power local governments have to make decisions and manage their affairs independently from state or federal authorities. In Nigeria, local governments currently have limited autonomy, leading to various issues, with access to funds being a significant challenge.
Empowering local governments is vital for true national transformation. By enabling local governments to scale up water access, sanitation, and hygiene interventions, they can directly contribute to improving the quality of life for citizens. Through capacity building, partnerships, decentralization, technological utilization, and community participation, we can enhance.
