National Action Plan for the Revitalisation of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector
Act · Infrastructure
Policy date: 2026-03-04
A Plan outlines Nigeria's 13-year strategy to achieve universal access to sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene services by 2030. It prioritizes vulnerable populations, including rural communities and those lacking basic drinking water. The goal is to ensure safe and managed WASH services for all Nigerian households.
What Is This Policy?
The National WASH Policy (National Action Plan) is Nigeria's 13-year strategy to ensure universal access to sustainable, safely-managed water supply, sanitation, and hygiene services for all Nigerians by 2030 — in alignment with SDG 6. It was launched following the Federal Government's declaration of a State of Emergency in the WASH sector in 2018.
Who Does It Target?
All Nigerian households, with priority on the 60 million+ Nigerians lacking basic drinking water access Rural and peri-urban communities where 39% of households lack basic water supply Schools and healthcare facilities across all 36 states and FCT Internally displaced persons (IDPs), women, girls, children, and persons with disabilities Open-defecation-practising communities (23% of the population as of 2021)
What Does It Aim to Achieve?
Achieve universal access to safe, sustainably-managed WASH services by 2030 (SDG 6.1 and 6.2) End open defecation in Nigeria by 2025 through the 'Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet' Campaign Increase basic water supply access (currently 67%) and safely-managed water (13%) to universal coverage Reduce WASH-related diarrheal and enteric diseases, which account for 73% of Nigeria's disease burden among children
Key Features
Three-Phase Plan: Emergency Plan → Recovery Plan → Revitalization Strategy (2023–2030) with increasing scope and investment Five Components: Governance, Sustainability, Sanitation, Funding & Financing, and Monitoring & Evaluation Clean Nigeria Campaign: National sanitation drive to achieve open defecation-free (ODF) status; community-led and state government-driven Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS): Grassroots behaviour-change approach triggering communities to eliminate open defecation SURWASH Programme: $700 million World Bank-funded programme to expand WASH to 6 million people with basic drinking water services WASHNORM Monitoring: National Outcome Routine Mapping surveys track SDG 6 indicators at national and sub-national levels
Current Status
The National Action Plan for the WASH Sector is active and being implemented, launched in 2018 as a 13-year strategy aligned with SDG 6.
Legal Framework
The National WASH Action Plan operates under the Water Resources Act, the National Water Resources Policy 2016, and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act 1992. It aligns with the National Environmental Sanitation Policy, the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004 (WASH in schools component), and Nigeria's commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6 — Clean Water and Sanitation).