Households Can’t Afford Enough Soap, Water to Obey COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines -NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics has said many Nigerian households recently surveyed did not have the financial means to purchase sufficient supplies to effectively abide by COVID-19 guidelines.

In the latest COVID-19 report released on Tuesday, most of the families surveyed could not afford enough water and soap to frequently wash their hands with soap as advised by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

It said, “Despite high awareness of safety measures, almost a quarter of respondents do not have sufficient soap to wash their hands.

“In the baseline, soap and cleaning supplies were the most commonly needed items, and most families confirmed that they were able to purchase soap when needed.

“In June however, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of households did not have sufficient soap to wash their hands and about seven per cent of households also reported insufficient access to water for handwashing.

“Poorer households were more likely to have insufficient access to soap and water to wash their hands.”

NBS noted that the shortage of water, both for drinking and handwashing, was either a result of a disruption in the water supply or inability to access the water source.

It added, “However, a large share of households also reported that they could not afford to buy sufficient supplies of water (17 per cent for drinking water and 28 per cent for handwashing water).

Also, “households reported not having sufficient soap to wash their hands was the inability to afford enough soap (79 per cent).”

The report surveyed 1,950 households in the month of June to monitor the economic implications of COVID-19 on households.