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Over 37,600 Jakarta families living with poor sanitation
(Kompas/Lucky Pransiska)More than 37,600 families in Jakarta still use makeshift facilities, not connected to sewers, as their toilet as a result of economic issues, no access to a proper toilet and in some cases a lack of hygiene awareness according to a recent poll from the community based total sanitation group (STBM)
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(Kompas/Lucky Pransiska) (Kompas/Lucky Pransiska)
(Kompas/Lucky Pransiska)
More than 37,600 families in Jakarta still use makeshift facilities, not connected to sewers, as their toilet as a result of economic issues, no access to a proper toilet and in some cases a lack of hygiene awareness according to a recent poll from the community based total sanitation group (STBM).
The poll data was presented during an urban sanitation workshop at the City Council (DPRD DKI) on Wednesday.
A 2013 survey conducted by the humanitarian organization Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) also stated that residents of Semper Barat and Penjaringan in North Jakarta did not have toilets.
The survey involved 420 mothers with children under 5 (balita), who mostly rented a home or a single room without an ensuite bathroom and thus had to use public toilets with a fee of between Rp 1,000 (8 US cents) and Rp 1,500 for each use, or an average of Rp 250,000 per month.
WVI chairwoman Agnes Wulandari said that the organization's project, which had been carried out for 2.5 years starting from April 2013 across four neighborhoods in North Jakarta, had seen a change in residents' behavior. The percentage of toddlers in the Penjaringan neighborhood suffering from diarrhea has also decreased from 16 percent to 6 percent.
According to the National Development Planning Agency's (Bappenas) urban sanitation program acceleration head, Wahanudin, around 59 percent of domestic wastewater management in Jakarta has been declared unsafe due to direct water disposal into gutters and rivers and below-standard septic tanks.
'Total losses resulting from poor sanitation in Jakarta is estimated to reach Rp 16 trillion per year or Rp 1.7 million per person per year,' he said as quoted by kompas.com.
According to Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, the large population density in Jakarta was the city's main issue.
With the city's population of 10.1 million people during the night and 13.5 million during the day, the city administration faces a huge challenge in providing accommodation, clean water, food and energy for everyone.
But, Djarot stated that the city would be able to solve these issues by, for instance, developing and doubling the number of low-cost apartment complexes for low-income residents. (liz/kes)(+)
