WB: 31 Filipinos die daily due to poor sanitation

SOME 31 Filipinos, mostly children, die everyday from diarrhea due topoor
sanitation, according to a recent study of the World Bank (WB) and United States
Agency for International Development (USAID).

The study, entitled Economic Impacts of Sanitation in the Philippines, showed
P77.8 billion per annum account for additional healthcare costs and lost wages
due to poor sanitation.

The study was funded by World Bank?s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) and
USAID?s-Environmental Cooperation-Asia.

The report cited the Philippines Statistical Yearbook 2008 as stating high
incidence of diarrhea cases of more than 38 million per year leads to the
premature deaths of 31 Filipinos a day.

The report said 27 million Filipinos do not have toilets and are at risk of
ingesting human fecal material. The health impacts of water pollution, and poor
sanitation and hygiene comes from contact with human waste through ingestion.

The study showed 27 million households without sanitary toilets have higher
risks of ingesting human waste, said Lisa Kircher, director of USAid-EcoAsia
Project in the Philippines.

Kircher said that the lack of toilets, sewage systems and operational wastewater
treatment facilities causes many Filipinos to contract waterborne diseases.

A single gram of human waste can contain 10 million viruses, a million bacteria
and a million parasite cysts, it noted.

Once human waste enters the body, the bacteria, parasites and viruses can grow,
causing symptoms, such as diarrhea, which is common among bacterial infections
such as dysentery, cholera, hepatitis A and typhoid,? she said.

The World Bank report said some 13 million Filipinos do not have improved water
sources, and only 3.3 percent of the households are connected to sewers leading
to the treatment facilities.

Access to basic sanitation is 20 percent lower for low-income households, while
access to water supply is 17 percent lower, said Rahul Raturi, World Bank sector
manager for environment and rural development.

The Bank said more than 95 percent of the wastewater in urban areas is deposited untreated into groundwater, canals and waterways.

As a result, water supplies are commonly contaminated, and people in urban
slums are exposed directly to raw sewage,? he noted.

The study came up with four policy recommendations?an increased political
importance and budget allocations for sanitation facilities, an intensified
education and information drive on the health benefits of improved sanitation,
the development of a policy and regulatory framework for environmental and
health protection, and the conduct of further research studies on the economic
and welfare impacts of poor sanitation.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd called for higher investments in sanitation
and sewerage system.

The Economics of Sanitation Initiative said parallel studies would be undertaken
to provide cost-benefit estimates for different sanitation options and
sanitation management models.

Post Date : 18 Februari 2008