TINALAKAY sa World Toilet Day 2023 “Ang Sanitasyon ay I-angat, para sa Kalusugan ng Lahat (Lupa, Hangin at Tao)” na ginanap nitong, Nobyembre 18, 2023 sa Cebu.
Sa kasalukuyan, ayon sa talaan ng World Health Organization (WHO), mayroong 3.5 bilyong katao sa buong mundo ang namumuhay nang walang maayos na palikuran habag aabot sa 419 milyong katao ang walang palikuran.
Dinaluhan ito ng mga opisyales ng Department of Health (DOH), acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia at acting Vice Mayor Dondon Hontiveros, mga kawani ng Cebu City Health at iba pa.
Ayon sa pag-aaral ng mga dalubhasa, aabot sa P77.8-B ang nawawala sa Pilipinas kada taon dahil sa poor sanitation at 72% dito ay dahil sa hindi magandang epekto na dulot ng hindi maayos na sanitasyon.
Ayon kay Engr. Joselito Riego de Dios, Chief Health Program Officer at OIC Division Chief ng Healthy Environment and Sanitation Division ng DOH-Central Visayas, layon ng World Toilet Day na mabigyan ng kamalayan ang bawat isa sa kahalagahan ng ligtas at malinis na komunidad.
“The World Toilet Day celebration aims to raise awareness among general public and to motivate local government units (LGU) to ensuring a safe and clean community where residence do not practice open defecation. We believe that the efforts of each and everyone present here contributes to accelerate the country’s progress towards achieving sustainable development goal number 6 where everyone would have safe toilets and water by 2030,” ayon kay Engr. Joselito Riego de Dios, Chief Health Program Officer and OIC-Division Chief, Healthy Environment and Sanitation Division, DOH.
Ani De Dios, dapat isa-alang-alang ng bawat isa ang pagpapanatili nang maayos na sanitasyon dahil kung hindi ay iba’t ibang sakit ang makukuha rito.
“Poor sanitation is lead to transmission of diarrheal diseases, to cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, intestinal worm infection, or even polio. Poor sanitation exacerbate stunting or….Poor sanitation is responsible of at least $9-B of economic losses per year, in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam combined,” dagdag ni De Dios.
Dagdag pa nito, base sa talaan ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) apat sa limang pamilyang Pilipino ay may access sa basic sanitation.
“In the Philippines, base on the National Demographics and Health Survey, on 2022 conducted by Philippine Statistics Authority, 4 out of 5 families or 83% of the total population had access to basic sanitation services or using an improve sanitation facilities not serve with another household,” ani De Dios.
Gayunpaman, mayroon ding 3.4 milyong mga Pilipino na walang maayos na palikuran o tinatawag na practicing open defecation.
Samantala, ayon naman kay Dr. Daisy Villa, Cebu City Health Officer, halos 100 porsiyento na mga Cebuano ang may access sa sanitation.
“Only one barangay who pass the zero open defecation meaning to say, lahat, meron nang sanitary toilet. So as we had the survey, we had an additional of 40 barangays na to pass, actually, 95-100% considered level 1 for zero open defecation, meaning to say level 1 who got the 95-100% meron nang access na sanitary toilet,” ayon kay Dr. Daisy Villa, Cebu City Health Officer.
Bagama’t may mga ilang lugar sa siyudad na densely populated ay mayroon na umanong nilagay na mga common toilet na magagamit ng mga Cebuano.
Kaya panawagan ng opisyal.
“Mga Cebuano’s, andito ako ngayon, nanawagan na sana tayong lahat ay magkaisa lalo na at meron tayong programa to involve the community. This would be a community involvement because we all know hindi namin kaya sa City Health, hindi kaya ng gobyerno, hindi din kaya ng mamamayan pero kung tayo ay magkakaisa, I know we can do it.”
