SAFE WATER. A water supply project in Catarman, Northern Samar in this May 28, 2022 photo. The Regional Development Council will monitor the delivery of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in six provinces and key cities in Eastern Visayas to put pressure on local governments to make WASH a priority program. (Photo courtesy of National Economic Development Authority)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Regional Development Council (RDC) will monitor the delivery of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in six provinces and key cities in Eastern Visayas to put pressure on local governments to make WASH a priority program.
RDC vice chair and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Director Meylene Rosales said they have received WASH action plans from the provinces of Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar; and the cities of Ormoc and Tacloban.
“We held caravans in different areas of the region this year, encouraging local governments to come up with WASH action plans, which include issues and gaps such as lack of access to safe and potable water, water testing laboratories, and handwashing facilities,” Rosales said in a phone interview Thursday.
Other issues and gaps include lack of manpower and capacity-building activities and the demand for prioritizing the WASH sector in budget allotment.
The action plan contains specific relevant details, including sets of doable actions, actors, and financing options, as the basis of its endorsement by RDC.
The caravan was a partnership between RDC, NEDA, UNICEF, and the Department of Health.
Citing reports from the 2021 field health services information system, the RDC said only 77.35 percent of houses have access to basic safe water supply, 73.34 percent have access to basic sanitation, and only 34.83 percent of 4,390 villages have zero open defecation.
The new Eastern Visayas Regional Development Plan calls for the WASH sector, both from the local government and national government, to convene to review and strategize the implementation of the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan in a “unified manner.”
Rosales said local governments are expected to lead the creation of local master plans and initiate projects on water supply, sanitation, and waste water management in their areas.
Monitoring the WASH action plan is part of the country’s commitment to attaining Sustainable Development Goal 6, or ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
According to the United Nations, access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being. It believes that billions of people will lack access to these basic services in 2030 unless progress quadruples. (PNA)
