THIS PAPER reported last month that two more municipalities in Iloilo province managed to achieve zero defecation status – Lemery and Janiuay. They joined the towns of Banate, Bingawan, Igbaras, Miag-ao, Mina, New Lucena, Oton, San Miguel, and San Rafael which reached “level 1” status (residents sharing sanitary toilets). The ideal, however, is each household having its own sanitary toilet to avert environmental contamination and water-borne diseases.
The provincial government of Iloilo started the campaign to eliminate the unhealthy exercise of open defecation in the barangay and municipal levels in 2015 yet. It has 42 towns and one component city. Clearly, there’s a lot of work to be done.
Open defecation, however, not just a provincial concern. It’s a nationwide problem. According to the Department of Health (DOH), around eight million Filipinos still openly defecate.
We urge DOH to work with local government units (LGUs) and determine which households and barangays still need assistance for toilet facilities. We hope all households will have improved sanitation facilities and every Filipino will have access to toilets. This is a serious sanitation and health issue. Diarrhea caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water kills 315,000 children every year around the world.
DOH has a Zero Open Defecation program where it advocates that every household in the barangay has sanitary toilets. There’s one success story: Sarangani province has zero open defecation. The Health department should meet with LGUs to determine priority areas for the provision of improved sanitary facilities using the Sarangani model. If Sarangani, which is among the poorest provinces in the country, can do it, other LGUs can do it as well, with political will.
Access to health sanitation facilities is one of the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals. One of its targets is to “achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.”
Basic sanitation services such as toilets or latrines are important because the lack of these facilities results in diarrheal diseases and public safety is compromised.
