Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is fundamental to improving the livelihoods and well-being of the poor. Clean water and adequate sanitation lead to improvements in health, school attendance, productivity and entrepreneurship.

Different international bodies focused on how to solve water and sanitation problems for the world sustainably. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), USA and its counterparts in other countries have prioritised WASH sector development by investing $793 million in WASH-related projects in nine partner countries. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Water, Sanitation & Hygiene programme focuses on developing innovative approaches and technologies that can lead to radical and sustainable improvements in sanitation in the developing world. This requires understanding issues across the entire sanitation service chain, including waste containment (toilets), emptying (of pits and septic tanks), transportation (to sewage treatment facilities), waste treatment, and disposal/reuse.

Water-related efforts in the developing world are often balkanised and not sufficiently integrated to ensure sustainable water services. There can be different strategies to ensure access to safe water depending on the country and its social needs. The different strategies may have impacts on reaching the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the proportion.

Lack of access to portable water has become a major problem in Nigeria thereby making borehole owners and the "mairuwa" the only source of getting water in major places across the cities while those in the communities resort to wells or streams as their only source. The problem of poor sanitation in many places is becoming alarming as refuse dumps continue to build up in every corner and sometimes close to business areas.

Damola Jimoh who runs a water purification business in Ilorin supplying purified sachet water to University of Ilorin, Al-Hikma University and other local shops and markets in the city says the state needs to provide water for the teeming population of the citizens. She said what prompted her to go into water purification business was because she was into restaurant business and the challenge of getting safe water crumbled the success of her business. Mrs. Jimoh said she went into water purification because most of the sachet water sold were not usually treated. "I fell ill with typhoid sometime last year because of the pure water I was buying during that time. I went to the teaching hospital where I was told to ensure I boil the water I drink. That was when I decided to start this business," she said. Mrs. Jimoh who lives in Taiwo area of Ilorin, wanders why the state government has refused to provide water for the teeming population of the state. She said most houses in the state either have boreholes or wells.

Mrs Susan Bello who manages an eatery in Kuje also noted that most businesses in Nigeria provide their sources of water and sanitation by themselves. She said it was government's responsibility to provide water and sanitation for its citizens, noting that although refuse dumps are cleared by the area council, "it's not in all areas of Kuje." The food seller also said she had to employ a staff that will make sure he cleans the surrounding of her bukka to make it conducive as an eatery. "Food business is very delicate. If your surrounding is not neat, nobody will patronise you. And with my business that is in an open space, I cannot afford to take chances. I employed someone who comes in the mornings to sweep and throw away the refuse before my customers start arriving," she said.

A student of Postgraduate diploma in education of FCE, Zuba, Mrs Bello said the area council must come up with appropriate regulation for dumping of refuse because the success of most businesses in the area council depends on clean environment.

Julie Moses is a hair stylist, she also laments that she buys from 'mairuwa' to operate her salon explaining that she pays N250 per truck - that is 10 jerrycans of water - and sometimes buys up to three trucks depending on how much customers she gets a day. The hair stylist said the community is also at fault for the poor sanitation the area council is suffering, adding that the rate at which people dump refuse from their homes onto the streets is alarming. Moses added that although the area council should have a designated place where people in all the streets should dispose their refuse, it still does not warrant the way people create a mess with their wastes everywhere. "The area council's participation in community sanitation is so poor.

Everybody has the impression that sanitation is government's business and so they are at liberty to dump their refuse anywhere. If you go around Kuje, every corner you enter is so dirty and unhygienic. We need to reorient ourselves and understand the health hazards of the implications of dumping refuse anywhere," she cautioned.

When contacted, the Head of Information, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Barrister Joe Okairo, said that the area councils are in charge of taking care of their environments because they are independent. He said they are having challenges with the villages that are attached to the town such as Garki, Kado and Mabuchi, noting that lack of infrastructure limits them from entering into such villages.

"Until these villages are relocated we may not be able to handle the environmental challenge in such areas. But what we do is to provide large refuse dump for people to use," he said.

Barrister Okairo said apprehending the defaulters is difficult since they do not dump the refuse in the day time, adding that any of them apprehended would be charged to court. "Even our staff are surcharged if they dump refuse indiscriminately." He charged the people to do the right thing now that the rainy season is here. "The refuse people throw through the windows of their cars block sewage and cause flood. People also gather their refuse and dump it in gutters when the rain is falling so that it pushes it away but this is wrong," Okairo also said. He said anywhere there is a dumpsite the agency should be informed for clearing. "What we do in such instances is to send our men with truck to clear it and we deduct the money from the contractor responsible for such area."