2016- 2019: TOILET SANITATION

According to UN data, billions of people still do not have access to or have inadequate sanitation facilities. Every second, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That is 1.5 million preventable deaths each year. In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sustainable Developmental Goal (SDG) 6 aims to provide access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all. In the Philippines, 23% of Filipinos, or roughly 19 million still do not have access to sanitary toilets. These realities necessitate tangible and collective efforts that will address the problem.

            For three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017, Sergio Osmeña failed to reach the national target of 90% for households with sanitary toilet facilities. In 2015, the municipality only reached 74%, in 2016 75%, and in 2017 79%. When the group initially engaged in the community, only 85% or 268 of the households have sanitary toilet facilities, which also did not meet the national target. These data proves that Barangay Venus needs improvement on toilet sanitation.

            With the presented reality, this challenged the team to thrive and develop a program designed to address the health problem. Improving toilet sanitation will help the barangay ultimately meet national standards. Through collaboration, the team together with the community was able to formulate a goal of 100% households with sanitary toilet facilities. By focusing on the most essential actions for achieving the goal, this will help the residents become more effective at providing a healthy environment and ultimately become self-reliant.

                Throughout the four years of community engagement, the team, along with the residents, health workers and barangay officials implemented the following activities:

1.)    Oplan Pansayan Health Education

2.)    “F Diagram:

3.)    World Toilet Day

4.)    Hinaw Kontra Kagaw School Lavatory

5.)    Distribution of Toilet Bowls

6.)    Community-led Total Sanitation

            With the endless effort poured by the committed agencies and individuals, the goal of reaching 100% households with sanitary toilet facilities in Barangay Venus was achieved.