World Toilet Summit in Solo Promote Healthy Sanitation
Kamis, 3 Oktober 2013 13:30 WIB
By Otniel Tamindael
Jakarta (Antara) - The World Toilet Summit in Solo, Central Java, being held from October 2 to 4, aims to promote healthy sanitation for all parties in both rural and urban areas in Indonesia.
Sanitation remains a significant problem for around 100 million people in Indonesia, while 63 million others are still living without proper toilets.
The absence of proper toilets is still forcing many people in the country to practice open defecation in the rivers, ponds, and sea, which causes health problems and ramps up the cost of water treatment.
"Unhealthy sanitation can potentially give rise to various diseases, and therefore it is important to promote healthy sanitation for all parties," Indonesia Toilet Association (ATI) Chairperson Naning Adiwoso stated while inaugurating the World Toilet Summit in Solo on Wednesday.
A total of 386 delegates from 20 countries are participating in the summit, which is being held at the Sunan Hotel Solo in Surakarta, Central Java.
Adiwoso pointed out that the World Toilet Summit was the only event where the issues of hygiene, health, sanitation, and the importance of toilets itself could be discussed, but many people still did not care about it.
"Therefore, it should be our common concern as the government too is making every effort to achieve its target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include providing better sanitation," she said.
The World Toilet Summit has been held 12 times, with World Toilet Organization (WTO) member countries, such as Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Ireland, Russia, Thailand, India, the U.S. and South Africa, hosting the event.
But Adiwoso noted that the current summit would be unique and different from earlier events because it will consist of training exercises during pre-events, a welcome dinner, the summit, a plenary session, concurrent tracks, an exhibition, a cultural night and the world toilet carnival.
A World Bank study has revealed that Indonesia loses 2.4 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually due to inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene and lack of access to safe water, with open defecation being one of the leading causes.
According to the study, untreated sewage emits some 6 million tons of human waste into water channels.
"Poor sanitation conditions lead to a high prevalence of fecal-borne diseases, such as typhoid and diarrhea, which in any two-week period afflicts 11 percent of Indonesia's children, and each year these diseases are linked directly to more than 40,000 deaths among Indonesian children below the age of five years," the study pointed out.
Therefore Adiwoso reiterated that providing proper sanitation and clean water facilities in Indonesia was still a great challenge.
She also noted that 63 million of the Indonesian population, including around one million in Jakarta, practiced open defecation in the rivers, because the access to healthy sanitation was only enjoyed by 55 percent of the population.
Lack of sanitation facilities and poor awareness of proper management of domestic waste-water, and the discharge of untreated waste into water systems is one of the most common sanitation problems faced by Indonesia.
She added that people's access to sanitation was not the responsibility of the central government alone and that regional governments also had to play a proactive role.
Therefore, Adiwoso noted that the ATI had garnered the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the Ministry of Public Works, and the Government of Surakarta to organize the World Toilet Summit 2013 in Solo.
Adiwoso also pointed out that clean toilets had become a marketing tool in competition among tourist businesses, hospitals, airports etc.
Meanwhile, the Director General for Society Empowerment and Tourism Destinations at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Bakri, stated that clean and healthy sanitation was an important investment for Indonesian tourism.
"Providing the tourists with clean toilets is an important investment for tourism in Indonesia," Bakri said at a press conference held during the World Toilet Summit 2013.
He added that clean toilets and adequate sanitation will be included in the national campaign of Tourism Awareness or "Sadar Wisata" because it was considered important in promoting tourism destinations in Indonesia.
Bakri explained that many tourists would prefer to visit tourist attractions and restaurants with good sanitation.
According to him, good sanitation will also have a positive impact on economic value.
"Therefore we will appreciate those public areas, such as international airports, zoos, recreation parks, and home-stays, which have clean toilets and good sanitation," he said. (*)