In a renewed push to strengthen water safety and improve public health, the Federal Government of Nigeria has called on development partners to support the mass production and nationwide distribution of hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) vials, a low-cost but highly effective tool for water quality testing.
The appeal was made on Wednesday in Abuja by Mrs. Elizabeth Ugoh, Director of Water Quality Control and Sanitation at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, during the quarterly meeting of the National Core Group on Water Quality.
Mrs. Ugoh emphasized the importance of expanding access to H₂S vials, which are used to detect bacterial contamination—particularly from faecal matter—in drinking water sources. She noted that access to clean water remains a major challenge across many rural and peri-urban communities in Nigeria, and that simple, affordable testing tools like the H₂S vials can be transformative in ensuring safe water for all.
“These vials have already proven effective during pilot projects supported by UNICEF in selected states. The results have been promising, indicating that this technology can serve as an early warning system for waterborne disease outbreaks,” Ugoh said.
The Ministry, she added, is in the process of conducting a comprehensive needs assessment to guide the nationwide scale-up of the initiative. However, the full rollout has been hindered by limited financial resources, highlighting the urgent need for technical and financial support from international partners, donor agencies, and the private sector.
“The use of H₂S vials presents a practical and scalable solution to water contamination testing, especially in underserved and remote areas where access to sophisticated laboratory facilities is limited or non-existent,” Ugoh noted. “But without adequate funding, we cannot manufacture and distribute these vials at the scale required to make a real impact.”
She stressed that achieving SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) would require a coordinated approach involving all stakeholders—governments at all levels, development partners, civil society organizations, and communities.
The H₂S vial method is a simple, low-cost, and reliable microbiological water testing technique that requires minimal training and no complex equipment. By adding water samples to the vials and observing color changes, field workers and community members can quickly determine the presence of harmful pathogens, especially Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is commonly associated with faecal contamination.
Experts at the meeting emphasized that regular water quality monitoring is essential for preventing the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, which continue to affect millions of Nigerians each year—particularly children under five.
Participants at the core group meeting commended the ministry for its leadership and stressed the need for strong multi-sectoral collaboration to scale up successful pilot interventions and ensure sustainability.
In closing, Mrs. Ugoh reiterated the ministry’s commitment to improving water quality standards across Nigeria, but cautioned that achieving universal access to safe water would require innovative partnerships, sustained funding, and community engagement at all levels.
