Sanitation Remains Serious Issue In Indonesia

Year-ender - SANITATION REMAINS SERIOUS ISSUE IN INDONESIA By Otniel Tamindael Jakarta, Dec 20 (ANTARA) - The introduction of clean water and sanitation facilities in rural areas across Indonesia remains a serious issue that the government must improve in the years to come. The country is still facing sanitation problems because some 70 million residents rely on water that they obtain from potentially contaminated sources, which can lead to an outbreak of serious diseases and can result in economic losses. However, the Health Ministry has succeeded in applying a community-based total sanitation program in 8,000 villages across the country in 2012. "The community-based total sanitation program has been implemented in 8,000 villages in various districts and provinces across the country," spokesperson for the environmental health directorate at the Ministry of Health Cucu Cakrawati said last week in Jakarta. She noted that through such a program, rural communities will come to realize the importance of a healthy lifestyle and will be able to identify problems and find solutions, while the government acts as a facilitator. According to her, the program will be continued in the years to come with the objective of improving access to drinking water and sanitation services for the poor communities in rural and suburban areas. Speaking at the opening of the 3rd East Asia Ministerial Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene in Nusa Dua, Bali, in September 2012, Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said some 7 percent of Indonesians have no access to adequate sanitation. "Seven percent of Indonesia`s total population, or around 21 million people, do not have access to good sanitation," the health minister had remarked at the time. Therefore, National Development Planning Agency`s Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Dedy S Priatna, on the occasion, stated that the country needed Rp56 trillion to accelerate the development of good sanitation facilities until 2020. In terms of sanitation quality, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said Indonesia ranked third among ASEAN countries. Djoko noted that the government, through the Ministry of Public Works, has introduced several measures to improve Indonesians� access to good sanitation by building facilities for waste management and drainage. "During the past few years, the government has invested Rp3 trillion per year to build sanitation facilities," said the minister, adding that active participation from the public in maintaining the infrastructure was also needed. Further, he noted that 76.3 percent of the 53 rivers surveyed in Java, Sumatra, Bali, and Sulawesi were contaminated with organic materials, and 11 other rivers were contaminated with ammonium. Therefore, the minister said the country was still far behind when it came to sanitation. To catch up with other countries, he stated, the government was adopting a variety of measures to provide better sanitation and waste management throughout Indonesia. "In the past few years, the government has made sanitation a top priority. Investment in sanitation is also relatively large, fixed at no less than Rp3 trillion (US$315,498) per year," he remarked. Meanwhile, the United States Assistance for International Development (USAID) has provided assistance worth US$33.7 million for sanitation programs in Indonesia over the past five years. " USAID disbursed the funds through its partner, Indonesian Urban Water Sanitation and Hygiene (IUWASH), in 50 regions across Indonesia," Louis O`Brein, Chief of Party IUWASH, said in Makassar, South Sulawesi, in June this year. He indicated that the 50 regions were mostly in Java, Bali, South Sulawesi, Maluku, and Jayapura. In South Sulawesi, disbursements were given to six districts: Enrekang, Maros, Takalar, Jeneponto, Parepare, and Makassar. But the Public Works Minister pointed out that none of these efforts would be useful without public support in the form of sanitary behavior. "Dirty habits have to be overcome, and the public should understand that they should not litter the river and environment by defecating wherever they please," he noted. The lack of sanitation facilities, poor awareness of the proper management of domestic wastewater, and the discharge of untreated waste into water systems are some of the most common sanitation problems in Indonesia. "Indonesia is one of many countries around the world with sanitation problems that cause many types of disease and death," environment office director of AUSAID Indonesia Alfred Nakatsuma said in October last year. According to him, some one billion people around the world are still without toilets, and 81 percent of them are in Indonesia, India, China, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Nepal, Brazil, Niger, and Bangladesh. "Therefore, water construction and sanitation requires government planning and public support. In addition, the people have to be able to make changes for themselves and their environment," he added. He pointed out that 94 percent of people affected by the recent diarrhea epidemic caught the disease because of poor sanitation and the consumption of contaminated water. The contamination of water sources also has an indirect effect on one�s health by exposing foods, such as vegetables and fish, to the pathogens present in contaminated water. According to Nakatsuma, contaminated wells are another sanitation problem in Indonesia. In areas that rely on hand-dug wells, the typically shallow depth of the wells often allows for contamination from the groundwater. He said overcrowded living conditions and the improper disposal of waste can also contribute to contaminated groundwater.