Communities flush for success

MANILA, Philippines - “If a 60-year-old asks for a sanitary toilet as her wish from you, it won’t be toilet humor. It will be toilet joy.”  

Thus, Dr. Zaida Danag, municipal health officer of Sabangan, Mountain Province, introduced best practices on community sanitation at a recent LGU (local government unit) forum on health sector reform in the capital town of Bontoc.

Danag said Barangay Bao-angan in Sabangan put bayanihan spirit into action to achieve a simple yet crucial goal. From being one of the lowest in number of households with sanitary toilets in the municipality, it now holds the record of having the most number in the whole town. It started with the plea of an old woman to her neighbors who badly wanted to have a sanitary toilet in her home. This moved barangay officials to devise a health and sanitation plan which could help her, and other households as well.

Since the most common problem of residents was lack of finances, a scheme was worked out where the local government unit shared the cost of construction materials with the homeowners and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) donated the toilet bowls. With water readily available in the barangay, community members simply helped each other in installing the toilets in every household.

Since then, a decrease in diarrheal incidence in the barangay was evident. Bgy. Bao-angan had the lowest percentage of households with sanitary toilets in the whole municipality in 2007 (76 percent) but in 2009, 99 percent of households already had sanitary toilets.

The LGU forum in Bontoc was organized by the provincial government, in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) and the European Union. It aims to boost the DOH health sector reform program and improve the health system in communities all over the country.

Having fun in Corcuera

The town of Corcuera in Romblon, also in a similar predicament, solved their lack of sanitation facilities by having fun.

Dr. Eufronio Ferrerira, Jr., Odiongan, municipal health officer, reported in their LGU forum that Corcuera was tops in the number of households in the province without sanitary toilets in 2007. The condition was due to poverty and budgetary constraints, and the wrong priorities of some household owners. 

The local government met the challenge of raising funds to buy and install the toilets by lining up a series of activities that would make it easier for people to donate to the cause. These included a bingo raffle, a disco night, and a concert.   

A counterpart scheme had the barangay providing cement and steel bars while the beneficiaries provided the labor. The mayor’s office donated the toilet units and the governor contributed some of the materials. Residents were then able to make the toilets functional with water rationed from water tanks and artesian wells.

Ferreira said the outcome was very encouraging. More households in Corcuera now have toilets, boosting the town’s sanitation program. And they were able to mobilize community participation, something that augurs well for future development projects in the municipality.

 Dr. Neil Crespo, municipal health officer of Surallah, South Cotabato, is just as proud of what the town’s barangays have accomplished with their sanitation programs. During the LGU forum for health sector reform in Koronadal, Crespo presented the initiatives of Barangay Duengas that earned them a citation during the national search for the “Barangay with Best Sanitation Practices.”   

The barangay did it with institutionalized waste management – waste segregation built around a materials recovery facility which is the mayor’s pet program, and the installation of sanitary toilets in households, with everyone in the community helping in the construction.

Community involvement is a constant battlecry in the barangay. Everyone is reminded to keep clean and get involved in health and sanitation projects that also include alternative medicine production, and putting up uniform bamboo fences around the town, all bayanihan efforts.  

Bgy. Duengas now boasts of 100 percent accessibility to sanitary toilets and potable water, which decreased the town’s morbidity rate. More than that, the local people are committed to work for a clean, disease-free and sound environment.

The LGU forums are being conducted in provinces implementing DOH health programs that include improved health service delivery and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. The health sector reform program is a partnership between the LGUs, the Department of Health, the European Union, and other institutional health partners.  It aims to help the Philippines meet its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.