Odisha gains international recognition; OWSSB to provide guidance on sanitation management in Lagos, Nigeria.

Odisha Odisha: A major achievement has come to the fore for the urban sanitation sector, where the state’s Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB) has been selected for an important role at the international level. As part of a global initiative in collaboration with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), OWSSB will now provide guidance to Lagos State, Nigeria in the area of ​​sanitation and waste water management.

This partnership is being done through the Global Water Operators Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA). This five-year program will run from 2026 to 2030, with the main objective of strengthening the sanitation service system in Lagos State. Under this, urban sanitation services will be improved by adopting Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and data-based governance system.

The focus of this collaboration will be Fecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM), with emphasis on making waste management more effective and modern at the city level. OWSSB will provide strategic and operational guidance to the Lagos State Wastewater Management Office (LSWMO) throughout the process.

This selection is being considered as an international recognition of the potential of Odisha in which the state has made significant progress in the field of digital sanitation management and urban waste water management. Experts believe that this partnership not only establishes Odisha’s technological capability on the global stage, but also brings international recognition to India’s urban sanitation model.

Under this initiative, both parties will work together to make sanitation services more transparent, effective and sustainable through modern technology, data analysis and digital systems. This will help address the challenges of sanitation management in a large and rapidly growing city like Lagos.

Usha Padhi, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department, Government of Odisha, chaired a high-level meeting to review the roadmap of this partnership. In this meeting, further strategy and immediate steps to be taken were discussed in detail.

According to officials, this partnership is a significant achievement for Odisha, as it positions the state as a model in the field of urban sanitation and digital governance at the global level. Also, this initiative will strengthen the possibilities of such cooperation with other countries in the future.

Through this programme, it is hoped that not only will sanitation services in Lagos be improved, but Odisha’s experience and technical model will also gain wider recognition internationally.