Issues around water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) pose a great challenge to many countries across the globe. Nigeria ranked as one of the top three countries in the world in number of people living without access to safe water and sanitation and ranked second for the number of people practicing open defecation. According to water, sanitation, and hygiene national outcome routine mapping (WASHNORM) data from 2018, 68 per cent of the population nationally had access to basic water supply, and progress towards achievement of universal and equitable access to basic water supply has been slow. The purpose of the 2014-2017 WASH Programme was, amongst others, to increase access to and use of improved water sources, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices, particularly among vulnerable communities.
The purpose of this evaluation was twofold: to contribute to both learning and accountability. To address accountability the evaluation assessed the extent to which the Programme fulfilled its expected objectives as per project documentation developed and agreed to with government, donors (DFID and EU) and UNICEF. With regards to learning, the evaluation intended to inform government and UNICEF Nigeria’s present and future Programmes in the WASH sector, refining Programming and financing modalities where appropriate to support better WASH services for children and their communities.
