KWAITA, Abuja — The Kwaita Community in Abuja’s Kwali Area Council has taken ownership of a new water and sanitation project designed to serve more than 4,300 residents.
Development partners behind the initiative say the community-run sanitation model could provide a blueprint for sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) service delivery across Nigeria, where many facilities fall into disrepair after project completion.
The project, implemented by WaterAid Nigeria in partnership with the Foundation for Sanitation Improvement (FSI) and Black Pelican, delivered a 10,000-litre solar-powered water supply facility, gender-segregated sanitation facilities, a female-friendly toilet and a multi-purpose meeting room. It also established the Kwaita Sanitation Cooperative, which will oversee the operation and maintenance of the facilities following their handover to the community.
Representing WaterAid Nigeria Country Director Evelyn Mere, the organisation’s Head of Programmes, Nanpet Chuktu, said the project was designed to go beyond infrastructure delivery by creating systems that communities can manage and sustain long after external support ends.
Chuktu said community ownership remains central to WaterAid’s approach to water, sanitation and hygiene interventions, noting that local participation improves accountability and increases the likelihood that facilities will remain functional for years to come.
He said the establishment of the Kwaita Sanitation Cooperative was intended to place responsibility for operations and maintenance in the hands of residents while strengthening local capacity to manage essential services.
According to him, the project successfully reached its target population of 4,310 people through the provision of a 10,000-litre solar-powered water supply facility, sanitation facilities for men and women, a female-friendly toilet and a multi-purpose meeting room that will support community engagement and facility management activities.
Chuktu said WaterAid’s experience has shown that communities are more likely to protect and maintain facilities when they have a direct role in decision-making and management.
He described the community-run sanitation model in Kwaita as an example of how partnerships between communities, local authorities, civil society organisations and the private sector can deliver sustainable WASH services.
Speaking during the commissioning and handover ceremony,
, said the project represented far more than the construction of toilets and water infrastructure.
“This project is more than a toilet. It is about dignity. It is about public health. It is about environmental protection. It is about community ownership,” Farouk said.
He said the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s efforts to end open defecation and improve sanitation outcomes, stressing that infrastructure alone would not solve the challenge unless communities were empowered to manage and sustain the facilities.
Farouk described the newly established Kwaita Community WASH Cooperative Society as the foundation of the community-run sanitation model, saying it would ensure local ownership while creating opportunities for sanitation-related entrepreneurship
“The real success of this project will not be measured by what we commission today, but by how well the facilities are maintained and managed in the years ahead,” he said.
According to Farouk, the cooperative will pioneer a Toilet Business Operator Model in the Federal Capital Territory, making Kwaita one of the first communities to test a community-run sanitation model centred on local ownership and accountability.
Chairman of Kwali Area Council, Hon. Nuhu Daniel, welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the council’s commitment to supporting improved sanitation services and community-led development efforts.
The council provided land for the project and is expected to continue working with community structures and sanitation officials to support the long-term management of the facilities through its Environmental Health and Sanitation Department.
A recurring theme throughout the event was the importance of moving beyond infrastructure delivery to sustainable service provision. Stakeholders noted that many public sanitation facilities across the country become non-functional because management structures are either weak or non-existent after construction.
The community-run sanitation model seeks to address that challenge through the sanitation cooperative, which has been tasked with overseeing daily operations, maintenance, accountability and long-term sustainability.
Representatives of Black Pelican, officials of the Federal Capital Territory Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), members of the Kwaita Sanitation Cooperative and community leaders attended the launch.
Stakeholders expressed hope that lessons from Kwaita could inform similar initiatives elsewhere in the Federal Capital Territory and across Nigeria as the country works towards its goal of becoming open-defecation-free by 2030.
For residents of Kwaita, however, the significance of the project extends beyond national targets. The combination of improved water access, sanitation facilities and a community-run sanitation model offers a practical test of whether local communities can take the lead in protecting public health infrastructure and ensuring it serves future generations.
