The Federal Government and Nestle Nigeria have launched a national water quality campaign aimed at improving public understanding of safe drinking water and reducing health risks associated with contaminated sources.
The initiative is being implemented with the Organised Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
Officials said Nigeria’s water challenge should no longer be measured only by whether communities have access to water but also by whether that water is safe, properly handled and sustainable.
The campaign was launched through a national training programme built around a Water Quality Handbook.
The handbook provides guidance on source protection, household storage, water testing, treatment, climate related risks and channels for reporting quality problems.
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation said the programme was intended to replace fragmented approaches with clearer national standards.
Participants at the training are expected to take the knowledge back to states, local governments and communities.
Nestle Nigeria said its water regeneration programme was also supporting communities with additional water supply.
The company said one catchment programme was expected to provide about 270,000 cubic metres of water annually to 16 communities, while another would provide approximately 130,000 cubic metres to eight communities.
The intervention is built around water access, quality, governance and long term sustainability.
Project officials said community participation was important to ensuring that infrastructure and education programmes remained useful after initial implementation.
Water harvesting is also being incorporated to support agriculture and food production.
The organisers urged state governments and private companies to support wider implementation.
They said the ultimate goal was to ensure that households not only have water available but understand whether the water they consume meets acceptable safety standards.
