Seven Yolanda-hit barangays in Leyte were declared as the first to eradicate defecation in public.
The declaration came after a government body, including hygiene specialists and international organizations, certified the remote barangays of Bulak, Masaba, and San Dionesio in Matag-ob town; Payao in Villaba town; and San Ignacio, Santa Domingo and Libertad in Kananga town as the first Zero Open Defecation (ZOD) barangays in Leyte.
To achieve the ZOD status, each household in a barangay should have access to toilet and water supply.
The recognition was a big feat given that 70 percent of people in these communities did not have access to toilets immediately after supertyphoon Yolanda.
Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization that promotes children’s rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries, gave a solution to the problem by providing remote and vulnerable areas, including the ZOD-certified barangays, with construction materials and trainings to build and repair toilets.
To date, Save the Children has already helped build 6,525 toilets in 32 barangays and plans to help build 3,475 more across 47 barangays this year.
“Save the Children knows that the practice of open defecation poses health risks to the disaster-affected communities, especially children. By providing communities with toilets and clean water supply, we can help protect children and adults from infectious diseases,” said Tom Howells, Save the Children’s field manager in Western Leyte office.
Save the Children said that building toilets and repairing water lines alone may not fully address the water and sanitation problems, thus launching a province-wide campaign to educate people on the health risks of poor hygiene and sanitation.
“The communities that achieved zero open defecation were successful because they now see the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation. Without proper consultation with and full involvement of the community and the local government, these projects may not succeed in the long-term,” said Reggie Aquino, Save the Children’s Program Development and Quality manager in Western Leyte office.