Stakeholders are looking for assistance to improve the welfare of Lagos State sanitation employees’ livelihoods and remove operational risks as a result of fast urbanization and significant increases in solid waste.
They presented at a one-day workshop titled “The Hidden World of Lagos Sanitation Workers: Investigating Livelihood Vulnerabilities and Empowerment Opportunities” that was held in Lagos and was put on by the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development (CHSD), University of Lagos. The operators of public restrooms, septic tank operators, and garbage removers were the study’s main subjects.
The stakeholders emphasized that poor political institutions, inadequate public money, unsuitable urban design, and a lack of equipment for trash employees are among the challenges impeding sanitation efforts. Others include the lack of policy enforcement and execution as well as a lack of facilities that are appropriate for collecting, storing, disposing of, and transporting solid waste.
It also examines and documents the various institutionalized approaches used by the state for urban sanitation services, identifies the various socioeconomic groups that make up urban sanitation workers, and establishes the scope of the services offered by each group of sanitation workers, including organizational frameworks, social support systems, and daily routines.
The study also identifies the major barriers to and facilitators of sustainable lives for sanitation workers and investigates the creative solutions they have developed to address new problems including the COVID-19 pandemic, precarious employment, and health issues.
According to Lawanson, a lack of access to water and sanitation reduces quality of life and contributes to the appearance and spread of diseases like cholera. She also added that these two things are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Water and sanitation are frequently combined in policy, but unintentionally, sanitation is frequently neglected in terms of specifics, goals, and finances as a result of water provision concerns. Many policies, according to Lawanson, fail to address fecal sludge management or take into account the full sanitation value chain, from containment through safe disposal.
The workforce is one of the most important parts of the sanitation value chain, but neither the literature nor the policies value their work in the sanitation service chain: Fecal waste containment, collection, transport, treatment, and final disposal or reuse.
Additionally, according to Lawanson, sanitation personnel carry out duties related to urban residents’ well-being as well as the appearance, cleanliness, and efficient operation of the city. They are essential players in municipal solid waste or waste water management, whether they are installing biofil toilets, managing septic tanks, or running businesses with public restrooms.
Focus group discussions (FGD) with government employed waste dislodgers, FGD with septage desludgers truck operators at the Lekki modular septage Pretreatment Plant (PPP), and engagement with state’s Waste Management Office (LSWMO) and Federation of Informal Workers Organizations of Nigeria (FIWON) to facilitate the study’s completion, according to co-investigator Dr. Basirat Oyalowo.
According to the report, flush toilets, ventilated improved pit latrines, and open pit latrines are the three main types of restrooms in Lagos. Since there is frequently no centralized sewage system, human waste is frequently disposed of on the sites where buildings were constructed (on site sanitation). Waste is often dumped into water bodies in low-income coastal communities.
“There aren’t enough public restrooms, which contributes to the prevalence of roadside urination and open defecation in many areas. Groundwater pollution has escalated as a result, with ensuing negative effects on human health and the ecosystem.
There is a growing need for sanitation employees, many of whom are unofficial labor, as there is a dependence on extraction from on-site systems. It’s not often apparent who is responsible for sanitation, although state and/or municipal governments are, according to Oyalowo, for urban sanitation.
According to the report, desluge truck drivers have been pushing for legislative changes that would enhance working conditions and secure their livelihoods, including as easier access to social protection and medical care. The dual taxation of owners by the state and local authorities lowers profitability and has an impact on employees.
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