Jakarta Globe, June 24, 2011
First Lady Ani Yudhoyono on Friday said that she was very concerned with the low levels of sanitation in Indonesia, citing a survey that states that 30 percent of Indonesian people still do not use toilets to defecate.
“Currently, 30 percent of our people are still doing BAB [defecate] in all the wrong places because of the lack of access to toilets,” Ani said in a speech in front of the participants at 2011 Santitation Jamboree in Jakarta on Friday, as quoted by news portal Detik.com.
According to the National Statistics Bureau (BPS), Indonesia population is more than 237 million, therefore more than 71 million people in the country still do not use toilets.
She said there were regions in Indonesia who were not providing good sanitation.
“If only all regional heads were committed [in providing good sanitation], God Willing, our lives would be more prosperous,” Ani said, adding that it was difficult to find clean water and good sanitation in the suburbs.
“In the suburbs, there are many [people] who defecate in the river,” she said.
Based on the survey, she said, 50 percent of Indonesian people still do not have access to clean water.
“The rest use risky water,” Ani said.
The government is striving to sanitation conditions by focusing on three programs, she said.
The first program is for Indonesian children to use toilets to defecate. The second, more access to clean water for people and the third, to clear water from waste.
“If the river is polluted, all people are at risk of contracting diseases,” she said.
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