ROXAS City – There are now four towns in Capiz declared to be free from open defecation.
The Department of Health (DOH) certified the municipality of Cuartero’s zero open defecation status on June 4 after a series of assessments in the town’s 22 villages.
The three other towns that DOH declared open defecation-free were Jamindan, Dumalag and Ivisan.
Open defecation refers to the practice whereby people go out in fields, bushes, forests, open bodies of water, or other open spaces rather than using the toilet to defecate, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Dr. Samuel Delfin, head of the Capiz Provincial Health Office, said DOH and UNICEF chose Cuartero in 2016 as the pilot site for a health promotion advocacy campaign on water sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
“The campaign dubbed as ‘Goodbye Dumi, Hello Healthy’ was first implemented in five villages of Cuartero that engaged the support of the local leaders on how to improve sanitation, hygienic practices and its effects on health and well-being of the people,” Delfin added.
He stressed that Cuartero is the first UNICEF-assisted town under such program declared as open defecation-free.
“Its (Cuartero’s) formed community theater group ‘Hugyaw Taliamba’ – composed of young and talented boys and girls – is one big factor that changed the negative behavior and practices of the community,” Delfin said.
The group relayed key messages on health, water sanitation and hygiene through songs, dances and storytelling.
Delfin said Hugyaw Taliamba’s advocacy videos will be distributed to all the provinces nationwide for the WASH campaign.
The zero open defecation certification is given to towns with villages that ensure the availability of a functional toilet with available soap and water in households. (With a report from PIA/PN)
