Sarangani govt. targets more villages for ‘zero open defecation’

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The provincial government of Sarangani is pushing for the declaration of more villages this year under the “zero open defecation” or ZOD status as it aims to provide more households with access to basic toilet facilities.

Dr. Arvin Alejandro, head of the Sarangani provincial health office, said they are currently working on the expansion of the ZOD program to more villages, especially in the remote areas.

He said as of last year, 72 out of the 141 villages in seven municipalities already have ZOD status. “That’s about 80 percent of our barangays so far,” Alejandro said. He said they have validated four more villages last January and more will be added to the list in the coming months, adding, they are currently working on the declaration of Alabel town under the ZOD status as it already posted a rating of over 90 percent, followed by Maasim in the next six months.

The provincial government initially declared the entire Malungon town under ZOD status in 2016, according to Alejandro. Since the ZOD program started in 2015, he said the provincial government already spent around P2.1 million for the production of concrete toilet bowls and were distributed by the local government through the rural health units to identified households that have no basic toilet facilities.

The initiative was implemented in partnership with the Department of Health and the United Nations Population Fund. Alejandro said the campaign for ZOD took off as a strategy to address the rising cases of admissions on acute gastroenteritis among residents. From 1994 to 2014, he said around 1,000 cases of acute gastroenteritis were recorded in the province annually and cost the local government P6 million per year based on the P6,000 case rate set by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

Around 28,000 households were documented in 2014 to have no toilets, which accounts for an estimated 4 million tons of human wastes a year. Alejandro said some 65 villages already have active local health boards and have established their sanitation action plans. Through its water and sanitation program, he said they are currently working on the activation of sanitation task forces in the municipal level. (Beverly Paoyon)

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