A TOTAL of 68 participants comprising pastors and church elders from the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church and other Christian Church denominations in and around Honiara took part in a ‘No Open Defecation’ (NOD) workshop held at the Mendana Hotel yesterday.
The workshop themed “The Role of Christianity in Sanitation Improvements in Solomon Islands” was hosted by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
The workshop is part of a National Sustainable Sanitation Plan (NSSP) programme of the ADRA and UNICEF to empower people with the knowledge on the effects of open defecation to health and Christian life in a bid to end to the practice of using open places like bushes, rivers and coastal areas for defecation.
The workshop basically targeted pastors and church elders as they would be influential in ensuring the success of NOD, which is in line with Christian principles of healthy living.
UNICEF WASH programme Officer Eric Hale said the workshop is part of their empowerment programme aimed at empowering pastors and church leaders with the knowledge they need to preach about the effects of open defecation to their congregation based on the Word of God – the Holy Bible.
The workshop participants shared their views about open defecation, its effects and the rightful ways to address the problem.
Mr Hale said the empowerment programme is basically to give knowledge to address the problem and does not include financial aid subsidies like the provision of materials for people to build toilets.
He said since 2013, the national government did not provide any grant for them to build toilets for people and hence it is the sole responsibility of families to build their own toilets.
Mr Hale said ADRA and UNICEF will only be there to encourage and empower communities with the necessary knowledge to build their own toilets.
A presentation by ADRA at the workshop touched on the sanitation projects it is rolling out in the Western Province.
According to national statistics provided yesterday, Honiara and Renbel Province have the least rate of open defecation, whilst Temotu Province, Makira-Ulawa Province, Central Islands Province, Malaita Province, Isabel Province and Guadalcanal Province still have a very high rate as more than 30 percent of their population still practice open defecation.
Statistics provided also showed that lot of countries in Africa and Asia have improved their NOD status over the years and some of these countries include India, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Nepal and Bangladesh.
UNICEF aims to ensure all households in Solomon Islands have their own toilets by 2030 in line with the 2030 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal Agenda.
By IAN LADDS OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
