number of people defecating in the open.The UN, which in its recent report, revealed that34 million Nigerians defecate in the public,however, expressed optimism that ending theunhealthy practice was possible.The UNICEF Communication Specialist (Media andExternal Relations) in Nigeria, Mr. Geoffrey Njoku,in a statement on the World Toilet Day, saidtrends in the past five years allow for cautiousoptimism that significant progress would be madein decreasing the number of people globally whopractise open defecation.Quoting a joint UNICEF and World HealthOrganisation report of 2012, Njoku said, “It isestimated that 34 million Nigerians practise opendefecation and Nigeria is amongst top fivecountries in the world with largest number ofpeople defecating in the open.”According to him, in Nigeria, it is estimated thatdiarrhoea kills about 194,000 children under fiveevery year while respiratory infections kill another240,000.“These are largely preventable withimprovements in water, sanitation and hygiene,”he stressed.Globally, UNICEF is supporting 50 countriesincluding Nigeria to implement communityapproaches to total sanitation such asCommunity-Led Total Sanitation aimed atempowering communities to identify theirsanitation challenges and take necessary actionsto end open defecation.He said, “CLTS aims to make all communities freeof open defecation by focusing on social andbehaviour change and the use of affordable,appropriate technologies.“The emphasis is on the sustainable use ofsanitation facilities, rather than the constructionof infrastructure, and the approach depends onthe engagement of members of the communityranging from individuals, to schools, to traditionalleaders. Communities use their own capacities toattain their objectives and take a central role inplanning and implementing improved sanitation.”The UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria,Ibrahima Fall, said, “CLTS is simple and aneffective way of improving access to sanitationwhile also paving the way for their improvedhealth.”Meanwhile, a Non-Governmental Organisation,WaterAid Nigeria, on Monday in Abuja stated thatNigeria had been losing about N455bn annuallydue to poor sanitation and bad hygiene.The organisation also said about 54 millionNigerian women and girls did not have safe andadequate sanitation while 17 million of them didnot have a toilet at all.The Country Representative of WAN, Mr. MichaelOjo, and Head of Governance, Tolani Busari, at apress briefing on the World Toilet Day, however,said the crisis could be solved.