2 North Cotabato towns now open defecation-free

KIDAPAWAN CITY - Two poorand remotest towns in North Cotabato were declared zero open defecation (ZOD) since one hundred percent of their households have already built sanitary toilets and put up waste segregation bins. The Department of Health (DoH) declared ZOD the towns of President Roxas and Arakan, both hinterland towns in North Cotabato in a ceremony witnessed by local government leaders, health workers, education officials, and several stakeholders. The towns, considered among the poorest in the province, are recipients of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project that the DoH, ACF International, and the UNICEF had implemented since 2012. Data showed these towns have high incidents of diarrhea and cholera, two most common water-borne diseases. Both also topped in severe malnutrition cases, malaria, and dengue. The project was aimed at providing sustainable potable water source and improved hygiene and sanitation behavior. Barangay officials said they took at least three years before they convinced all the households not to throw human and animal wastes on the rivers, streams, and in the fields. To impose proper hygiene and sanitation, each barangay in both LGUs has passed an ordinance which penalized households without sanitary toilets and material recovery facilities. After people have improved their hygiene behavior, health officials recorded a decrease in water-borne diseases and malnutrition. Also, two barangays from President Roxas and Arakan were selected as among Central Mindanao’s barangays with best sanitation practices. During the ZOD declaration, LGU executives, health and DepEd officials, including barangay leaders and residents signed sanitation pledge, a commitment that said they will sustain the project and ‘will never, ever’ defecate in open fields, on the rivers, and on other waterways.