EDITORIAL - Sanitation for all

Among the inconveniences that must be endured by many victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda is the lack of sanitary toilets. Even without the devastation brought by a natural calamity, however, an estimated one billion people are without safe and clean toilets in this country and other parts of the globe.

This is a cause for serious concern among those who see the lack of sanitary toilets as a major cause of diarrhea and deaths from water-borne diseases among children under five years old. The United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that each day, 1,600 children around the world die of diarrhea, while 25 percent of all children suffer from intestinal worms. Those are preventable deaths and afflictions.

The Unicef estimates that up to 26 million Filipinos – more than a fifth of the population – do not have access to sanitary toilets, and 7.4 million defecate in rivers. Millions of Filipinos lack access not only to sanitary toilets but also to clean water for washing hands. Even a number of public schools lack these facilities, putting children at risk of diarrhea, cholera and similar afflictions.

There have been programs to expand access to sanitary toilets, but the effort has never been enough. One program became mired in a corruption scandal during the Marcos regime. With many other problems needing urgent attention after the fall of the dictatorship, state-funded toilet access programs were not given high priority by subsequent administrations.

To address the sanitation crisis, Nov. 19 was designated in 2001 as World Toilet Day. Even with the designation of a special day to improve toilet and sanitation access, the United Nations “is alarmed and concerned” about slow progress in this effort, according to the Unicef. The observance of World Toilet Day should remind policy makers that access to sanitary facilities can go a long way in improving public health and saving lives.