Poor Sanitation, Unsafe Water Consumption Kill 150,000 Nigerian Children Annually

About 150,000 children die annually in Nigeria due to poor sanitation and consumption of unsafe water, the United Nations Children's Education Fund (UNICEF) has said.

"In Nigeria every year, we have about 150,000 children that die largely due to diarrhea mostly associated with unsafe water sanitation and hygiene," said Kanaan Nadar, UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Chief in Nigeria on the occasion of the 2014 global hand washing day celebration in Abuja.

"Hand washing can actually step down … diarrhea death to almost 50 percent and reduce pneumonia to almost 40 per cent. So hand washing is really important," he said.

Nadar noted that hand washing with soap has made a major difference in the fight against Ebola Virus Disease, EVD.

"In the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus, hand washing with soap, as an important tool, has made additional line of difference.

"Choose hand washing for this is apt given the prominence that hand washing has gained especially in this particular time of crisis in a number of countries.

"Everyone can choose to wash his or her hand with soap after using the toilet and before eating or touching food, thereby creating healthy environment not only for themselves but also for the family and the larger society," Nadar said.