Water, sanitation and hygiene practices among primary-school children in Lagos: a case study of the Makoko slum community

It is highly unlikely that Nigeria will be able to achieve the water-supply and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals. This paper examines the impact of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) knowledge, attitudes and practices among primary schoolchildren in Makoko, a slum in Lagos that typifies the Nigerian urban environment. The findings reveal that while primary-school pupils are fairly knowledgeable about WASH services, they indulge in risky WASH practices out of helplessness and poverty, suggesting that developing countries may not overcome their WASH crisis until the problem of poor governance is resolved.