Where is The Water to Wash My Hands? Covid-19 and Water Availability in Nigeria

Abstract

Water availability plays an essential role in the protection of human health during all infectious diseases outburst including the current Covid-19 outbreak. One of the major preventive strategies for Covid-19 is the regular washing of hands at all times to prevent the risk of infection and transmission of the virus. This raises the question of the availability of water in Nigeria as a catalyst to flatten the curve of the spread of Corona-virus in the country as statistics on water availability show only 60% of the population have access to safe drinking water and less than 50% in rural areas have access to potable water. This paper analyses water availability in Nigeria as an elixir to the spread of the virus by examining the adequacy of various interventions of law aimed at ensuring the provision of potable water for all and sundry particularly now that access to clean water is a critical requirement for healthy living in Nigeria. The paper submits that till date, water availability in Nigeria is still at a peripheral level. As a result, there’s urgent need for an all-encompassing national water law that would ensure its availability without compromising the requirements of the environment and future generations.