Across many slum and informal settlements in Nigeria, access to clean water, safe sanitation, and basic hygiene facilities remains a persistent daily challenge. Families are often forced to rely on unsafe water sources, overcrowded or damaged shared toilets, or resort to open defecation due to the absence of viable alternatives. These conditions expose both children and adults to preventable diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, and typhoid, while also undermining personal dignity, safety, and overall quality of life. Save the Slum Initiative (STSI) was established in response to these harsh realities, with a focus on some of the most neglected urban communities where poverty and overcrowding make access to essential services extremely difficult. Through practical, community-centered solutions, STSI works to ensure that people living in slums are able to meet their most basic needs with dignity.

The STSI WASH project is designed to improve health outcomes, restore dignity, and enhance living conditions in slum communities by increasing access to clean water, safe sanitation, and improved hygiene practices. The project supports communities through the construction and rehabilitation of boreholes and protected water points in areas where safe water is scarce, significantly reducing the time and distance families travel to fetch water while providing a safer alternative to contaminated sources. Community members are trained to manage and maintain these water facilities, helping to ensure long-term functionality and local ownership.

In response to the widespread lack of safe toilets in slum areas, STSI constructs and rehabilitates improved, gender-sensitive sanitation facilities in households, schools, and shared community spaces. These interventions help reduce open defecation, improve environmental cleanliness, and enhance safety and privacy, particularly in densely populated settings. Recognizing that infrastructure alone cannot deliver lasting change, STSI also places strong emphasis on hygiene promotion. The project works closely with residents to encourage good hygiene practices such as regular handwashing with soap, safe water storage, and proper waste disposal, supported by hygiene education sessions for households, schools, and community groups, as well as the distribution of essential hygiene materials to vulnerable families.

Community engagement is central to the STSI approach. From the outset, residents are actively involved in planning and decision-making processes, while local volunteers are trained as WASH champions to lead awareness activities, monitor facilities, and support behaviour change. This participatory approach builds trust, strengthens ownership, and ensures that solutions are practical, culturally appropriate, and widely accepted by those who use them.

Through its WASH interventions across Nigeria, STSI has achieved significant results, including improved access to clean and reliable water for over 18,000 people, delivery of WASH services in 35 slum communities, and the construction or rehabilitation of more than 120 improved toilet facilities. Nearly 5,000 households have participated in hygiene education activities, over 6,000 hygiene kits have been distributed to vulnerable families, 75 community volunteers have been trained to support WASH activities and facility maintenance, and 30 schools have benefited from improved sanitation facilities and hygiene education. Beyond these measurable outputs, the project has delivered meaningful improvements in everyday life. Families report fewer cases of water-related illnesses, especially among children. Women and girls experience greater safety, privacy, and dignity through access to nearby toilets and clean water. Children are healthier and attend school more regularly, while communities are visibly cleaner, with improved waste management and environmental practices. Perhaps most importantly, residents feel empowered through their involvement in managing water points and sanitation facilities, taking pride in protecting and sustaining what they have built together.

STSI remains committed to ensuring that these improvements are sustained over the long term. Community WASH committees are established and trained to oversee facility management, mobilize small maintenance contributions where appropriate, and carry out basic repairs. The project prioritizes low-cost, locally appropriate solutions and works closely with local authorities to strengthen long-term institutional support. While working in slum environments presents challenges such as overcrowding, limited space, high demand on facilities, and the need to change long-standing hygiene behaviours, STSI has learned that consistent community engagement, transparency, and strong local leadership are essential for lasting success. Through its WASH project, Save the Slum Initiative continues to demonstrate that access to clean water, safe sanitation, and basic hygiene is a fundamental right, helping slum communities across Nigeria live healthier, safer, and more dignified lives.