Bappenas: 25 Mln Indonesians Practice Open Defecation in 2018
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12 February 2019 22:08 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Head Bambang Brodjonegoro voiced his concern over 25 million Indonesians with careless defecation habits (BABS) last year.
“This [unhygienic open defecation habit] must be the concern of everyone involved,” said Bambang as a speaker at Hasanuddin University (Unhas) of Makassar on Tuesday, Feb. 12.
Bambang hopes that the recently-launched sustainable development goals (SDGs) center in Unhas will be able to immediately handle the situation, especially in Indonesia’s eastern regions.
The data from UNICEF suggest that there were 32 million people continuing the unhygienic habit in 2015, but has been reduced to 25 million in 2018.
“This issue needs to be handled seriously until it is eradicated 100 percent,” said Bambang.
He called for every region in Indonesia to coordinate as a team upon battling this hygiene issue consisting of sanitation issues, providing clean water, up to zero percentage of BABS. He also hoped through the involvement from members of the Association of City and Districts for Indonesia’s Sanitation (Akkopsi) the situation would be improved.
ANTARA