“Basic toilet facilities should be a necessity for every Filipino household, more than having mobile phones.”- DOH Secretary Francisco Duque
It is the year 2022, and you would think yourself years ago that by this time, everyone has access to a toilet facility. But a data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that only 70 percent of the official demographic data have improved toilet facilities that are not shared with other households.
“We have more Filipinos with mobile phones than those with functional toilets,” Duque said. Seeing this need, the Rotaract Club of Carmen Valley launched a campaign which aims to give toilet facilities to barangay Mambuaya in Cagayan de Oro City, identified as one of the barangays here with the lowest number of toilets per household.
The club partnered with Mindanao Cooperative Hostel Services (MCHS) to recycle used toilet bowls which are surplus from its recent renovation. Project Chairman Mac Cinco said finding ways to promote sanitation and hygiene is tantamount to helping the world eradicate polio.
The club donated 7 toilet bowls to 7 selected households without toilets, and with the most number of family members. Pails and dippers are also distributed to the households as a hygiene set. “In our own little way, we have not only helped the community but supported the government’s Health Agenda in eliminating open defacation,” Cinco said.
The 7 households is composed of a total of 40 individuals or 21 adults, 9 females, 11 males, and 19 children ages 15 years old and below.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), approximately seven (7) million Filipinos still practice open defecation, mostly in rural areas. With the project, there are now a total of 40 individuals who now have access to toilet facilities that shall assist them in practicing basic sanitation and hygiene.
