Only 8% of Nigerian Schools Have Menstrual Hygiene Facilities, Warns Scholar

Wale Igbintade

Nigeria’s water and sanitation crisis has reached what Professor Uchenna Emelonye describes as a “gender justice emergency,” undermining the dignity, health, and education of millions of girls.

Emelonye, an international human rights scholar, sounded the alarm at the African Union Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming, which brought together policymakers and experts to discuss the theme: ‘Advancing Gender-Responsive Water and Sanitation Policies for Sustainable Development in Africa’.

In his address, Emelonye urged African governments to treat water and sanitation as urgent human rights issues rather than peripheral infrastructure concerns. 

He highlighted that when water systems fail, women and girls bear the brunt—a reality particularly acute in Nigeria.

Even in major urban centres such as Abuja and other state capitals, access to reliable public water remains limited. 

Many households depend on private boreholes, water tankers, and other unregulated sources to meet daily needs.

“This fragile access in urban and peri-urban areas likely masks far more severe shortages in sub-urban, rural, and conflict-affected communities, where infrastructure is weaker and services are often sporadic or entirely absent,” Emelonye said.

Focusing on the education sector, Emelonye cited alarming national Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) statistics: only 30 per cent of schools have basic sanitation services, while just 37 per cent have access to a basic water supply. 

He added that the gender gap is even starker—only eight per cent of schools have girls’ toilet compartments equipped with menstrual hygiene facilities.

“The implication is clear: safe and hygienic learning environments remain the exception rather than the norm in Nigerian secondary schools,” he warned.

Emelonye explained that forcing girls to manage menstruation without safe and private sanitation is not a minor inconvenience; it constitutes a violation of their rights and a barrier to education.

Poor water and sanitation facilities directly affect girls’ school attendance, participation, privacy, and dignity, while exposing them to health risks and quietly pushing many out of the classroom.

He argued that the issue must be recognised as a matter of gender equality and fundamental rights, not merely infrastructure planning.

“With municipal water coverage limited even in the Federal Capital Territory and state capitals, the situation in rural and underserved communities is far more dire. 

In many villages, public running water remains virtually non-existent,” Emelonye said.

He called on federal and state authorities to prioritise school water and sanitation as a national education and gender-equity issue. 

Emelonye urged the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to adopt enforceable national standards for safe, girl-friendly sanitation in all secondary schools, backed by dedicated, gender-responsive funding rather than ad hoc interventions.

He also recommended formally integrating menstrual hygiene management into school health policies and strengthening monitoring systems to track progress using sex-disaggregated data.

By framing Nigeria’s water and sanitation challenges within a broader human rights lens at an African Union forum, Emelonye emphasised the continental significance of the crisis.

 Advancing gender-responsive WASH policies, he said, is central to achieving sustainable development across Africa.

“Until governments move beyond rhetoric and implement enforceable standards supported by adequate funding, millions of girls will continue to face barriers that compromise both their dignity and their right to education,” he warned.