Nigeria: Women Lead Campaign Against Open Defecation in Abuja

What the report says

Women leaders from 16 communities in Kundu Ward of Kwali Area Council in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory have begun a community campaign to curb open defecation and improve sanitation. The effort was reported by This Day and distributed by AllAfrica, with activities centered in Abuja and backed by local and international partners.

The initiative is being carried out by the Resource Conservation and Development Initiative International under its ThriveFlow programme, with support from ActionAid Nigeria, the Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership-Nigeria Project funded by Global Affairs Canada, and the FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency. According to the report, the plan places women at the center of sanitation outreach because of their role in household hygiene, childcare, water management and community mobilization.

RCDI said 80 women from the participating communities will be trained as sanitation champions. They are expected to carry out door-to-door sensitisation, promote toilet use, encourage handwashing and cleaner surroundings, and track progress toward open-defecation-free status. The programme also includes menstrual hygiene education and distribution of reusable sanitary pad kits to selected beneficiaries.

Local officials and participants said the women-led approach could strengthen community ownership and support existing government sanitation efforts. A Kwali Area Council WASH coordinator welcomed the intervention, while one community woman leader said the training had given participants practical knowledge to share at home. The broader significance is that the campaign links sanitation, public health and women’s leadership in a rural part of Abuja.