FOOD and EMPOWERMENT MINISTRY INC.
Drill Potable Water wells
Feed & Educate Children
Empower Women
Empower Women
Nigeria water crises
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In 2018, Nigeria’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector was declared to be in a state of emergency and approximately 60 million Nigerians were living without access to basic drinking water. (United Nations)
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Women and girls suffer disproportionately from the lack of adequate WASH services. They bear the burden of water collection over long distances, which has been associated with negative effects on well-being, school attendance, and a higher risk of gender-based violence.
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The poor access to improved water and sanitation in Nigeria is still the major contributor to high mortality rates among children less than 5 years old.
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Nigeria has 215 cubic kilometres of available surface water per year and also plenty stored in the ground.
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70% of the people in Nigeria have access to basic water supply but little access to clean drinking water.
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In rural areas in Nigeria, 39% of households lack access to at least basic water supply.
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The Average Nigerian uses 9 litres of water per day (compared to national acceptable minimum standards of 12 to 16 litres per day)
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Some of the most common sources of drinking water in Nigeria are tube wells, boreholes, and dug wells.
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Pipe-borne water accounts for 9.5% of domestic water supply to households (A significant drop from 61.6% in 1995)
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Borehole accounts for 21.5% of tap water supply to households in Nigeria.
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86% of Nigerian households declared not to treat water before drinking.
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77.3% of Nigerians’ household drinking water is contaminated by bacteria ( especially E coli bacteria).
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Unsafe water sources are the cause of 7.34% of deaths in Nigeria.
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The most common waterborne diseases in Nigeria include cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and dracunculiasis.
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Most water supply pipes in Nigeria were laid in the 1970s. There has been little to no replacement or construction of new pipelines since then.
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Nigeria has the 3rd largest market share for water filtration products within Sub-Saharan Africa, corresponding to 15% of the total (with South Africa coming in first at 43% and Ethiopia second at 18%). (Femi Oja 2023)
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Nigeria has a low drought risk with an index score of 1.2 out of 5 (African countries with the highest risk include Somalia, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Mauritania, and South Africa with the index of 5, 4.72, 4.68, 4.48 and 4.44 respectively)
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The top 5 bottled water brands in Nigeria are Eva Water ( by Coca Cola) Nestle Pure Life, Aquafina (from PepsiCo), Cascade, Redeemed Water and Bigi Table Water.
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30% of the commercial bottled water and Sachet Drinking Water contains bacteria.
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58% of Commercial Sachet Drinking Water are unfit to drink because they don't meet the recommended W.H.O standard.
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Commercial Sachet Drinking Water cost as much as 20 times more than tap water from Nigerian Water Board.
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About 29% (26.5 million) of Nigerian children do not have enough water to meet their daily needs.
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73% of diarrhea and enteric disease cases in Nigeria are connected to low access to safe and clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). These diseases tend to disproportionally affect the poor and disadvantaged, especially children.
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Non-governmental organizations including EMCOJEE Network Inc have focused efforts on building community resilience. We have carried out initiatives in rural Nigeria with the goal of creating and renovating boreholes and wells as well as teaching the local populace how to operate and maintain these infrastructures.
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This community-focused strategy guarantees that the locals have the knowledge and abilities necessary to maintain their water resources in the long run.
The cast population of Nigerian children are the most vulnerable to malnourishment, starvation and food insecurity. Approximately 6 of the 17 million food-insecure Nigerians today are children under 15.
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Nearly 25 million Nigerians are at risk of malnutrition, hunger, and starvation hunger between June and August 2023 (lean season) if urgent action is not taken, according to the October 2022 Cadre Harmonisé, a Government led and UN-supported food and nutrition analysis carried out twice a year.
This is a projected increase from the estimated 17 million people currently at risk of food insecurity. Continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices are key drivers of this alarming trend. Food access has been affected by persistent violence in the north-east.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency, widespread flooding in the 2022 rainy season damaged more than 676,000 hectares of farmlands, which diminished harvests and increased the risk of food insecurity for families across the country. The flooding is one of the effects of climate change and variability impacting Nigeria. More extreme weather patterns affecting food security are anticipated in the future.
Of the 17 million people who are currently food insecure, 3 million are in the northeast BAY states. Without immediate action, this figure is expected to increase to 4.4 million in the lean season. This includes highly vulnerable displaced populations and returnees who are already struggling to survive a large-scale humanitarian crisis in which 8.3 million people need assistance.
“The food security and nutrition situation across Nigeria is deeply concerning,” said Mr. Matthias Schmale, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria. “I have visited nutrition stabilization centres filled with children who are fighting to stay alive. We must act now to ensure they and others get the lifesaving support they need.”
Children are the most vulnerable to food insecurity. Approximately 6 of the 17 million food-insecure Nigerians today are children under 5 living in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara states. There is a serious risk of mortality among children attributed to acute malnutrition. In the BAY states alone, the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition is expected to increase from 1.74 million in 2022 to 2 million in 2023.
UNICEF, working with the government and partners such as MSF and ALIMA, is investing in scaling up preventive nutrition interventions, while ensuring that vulnerable children have access to life-saving nutrition services. In 2022, UNICEF with partners was able to reach approximately 650,000 children with life-saving nutrition services across the six states mentioned above.
The northwest region, around Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto states, is an increasing food insecurity and malnutrition hotspot. An estimated 2.9 million people are currently critically food insecure (Cadre Harmonisé Phase 3 or worse.) This figure is projected to increase to 4.3 million in the lean season if urgent action is not taken.
With partners, FAO has been supporting the government to restore livelihoods in the northeast and northwest regions. This includes livestock production, crop production, homestead micro gardening, value chain development and aquaculture.
The United Nations is calling on the Government of Nigeria, the donor community, and public and private stakeholders to urgently commit resources and implement mitigation measures to save lives and prevent a potentially catastrophic food security and nutrition situation. Support for vulnerable families across the country is needed today, not tomorrow.
Nigerian women play a vital role in food and agriculture. It is estimated that women smallholder farmers constitute 37% percent of the labor force. They produce much of the food for domestic consumption and they are the drivers of food processing, marketing and preservation.
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In spite of their important contribution in the agricultural sector, they have limited access to land, credit facilities, farm inputs, training and advice, and technology. Very few have holding rights on the land where they farm in Nigeria, with many working in the fields unpaid and little say in how earnings are spent.
With a rapidly growing population of over 200 million, and hunger and malnutrition prevalent, ramping up local production of dominant staples like rice is crucial for Nigeria to attain food security and lift millions of people out of poverty. (usaid.gov).
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Female empowerment in Nigeria is a wealth creation scheme that will eliminate poverty in their families and empower the Nigerian women.
The need to empower women, particularly poor rural women, is critical to Nigeria’s economic progress. According to statistics, Nigerian women are yet to achieve a steady level of personal well-being for profitable economic activities. Inaccessibility to health care, education, and participation in decision-making has hampered women’s growth. (dailytrust.com).
After COVID-19, there is an even more unprecedented need to help impoverished women build back their lives. These women live below the poverty line, are mostly sole providers for their children, and barely surviving rather than thriving. EMCOJEE sees a need here to help as many women as we can. The mission is to help them start back-up by (i) renewing their hope, (ii) regenerating a new business by providing training and mentoring, (iii) providing 70% or more of the funds needed, (iv) facilitating expansion of their business for qualified candidates.
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By doing this, EMCOJEE would have helped rehabilitate these women and pull them out of financial dearth, desperation, and despondency. We support and encourage the women from the beginning: starting her business and continuing to provide education, training, information, monitoring, and advocacy to help her grow her business. One month after the business starts, a daily savings deposit will be made to a set aside account. EMCOJEE will match the savings every 10-12 weeks, The funds will be used for expansion of the business and client market for more profit.
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Businesses which will be funded include petty trading, farming, and food service. EMCOJEE will only support (1) women who have some experience in the choice of trade or have received apprenticeship and training; (2) women who operate a bank account or are willing to open one and receive training on how to operate their bank accounts; (3) women who will commit to making daily deposits in alignment with their empowerment contracts with EMCOJEE. These payments are all used to help the women expand their businesses and support others. ​
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