SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Earth is known for its abundance in its resources. Whether it be land, air, and

water; however, only 0.3% of the world’s water supply is available for human use. Water

is universally known to sustain life. Unfortunately, not everyone has stable access to it,

especially people living in developing countries, such as the Philippines. The people

living in these countries either have to live without water or use most of their time trying

to collect contaminated water, and both of these scenarios raise significant problems

regarding their health and quality of life. In the Philippines, studies show that one-tenth

of the population does not have access to high-quality water (Manriquez, 2020). Poor

sanitation is commonly associated with poverty. As the people who face this problem

are mostly from the lower class, and that they continue to face this problem because it

impedes economic and social growth (Roberts, 2018). The lack of water sanitation

could also cause many health-related issues, as they have no choice but to use

contaminated water. According to the United Nations (n.d.), at least 892 million people

still practice open defecation. And as a result, they become more susceptible to

diseases like roundworms, threadworms, cholera, and diarrhea.

Nowadays, 1 out of 9 people on Earth do not have access to clean water,

one-third of the world’s population has no toilet facilities where they can relieve their

waste, which is an unacceptable living condition for anyone. As a response, the UN

created the Sustainable Development Goal #6, to ensure availability and sustainable

management of water for all. Having access to clean water is a right, and everybody
should have access to it. The reasons why developing countries are experiencing

sanitation problems are because of inadequate preparations, lack of resources, and

proper waste disposal.

Urban planning is the strategic allocation and design of land to maximize the

physical, social, environmental, and economic benefits of the space. It requires the

collaboration of social and political concerns, architecture, and engineering. In the

Philippines, there are many laws and regulations about urban planning, specifically

about water sanitation and sewage systems. These regulations vary from the drainage

of buildings, wastewater systems, waste disposal, sewage systems, and flood control

(Magtibay, 2006). Unfortunately, people do not follow these laws. As a result, roughly 24

million Filipinos have no access to improved sanitation (World Bank Group, 2015).

48% of the country’s domestic wastewater and sewage is inadequately treated

(Claudio, 2015). This problem occurs because of the lack of proper urban planning.

Some existing organizations and programs aim to resolve this problem, like the Cities

Development Strategy (CDS). CDS partners with cities, and it enables them to design

and implement their strategic development plans, encourages all city stakeholders to

participate, and promotes knowledge sharing among other cities (Cities Alliance in

Action, n.d.). The project is possible because of its partners that provide resources.

However, the program has only helped two cities so far.

Projects like this can potentially solve the lack of water sanitation, but CDS has

been slow because it lacks enough support and resources. The government needs to
support programs for urban planning and development because it will stimulate and

kickstart these programs, and it will solve the problem faster.

Constructing effective sewage systems within the country will take a multitude of

resources, time, and effort from the government and everyone else involved. However,

it is worth it because this is not a band-aid solution. Instead, it is a long term solution

that will completely eradicate sanitation problems in the country.

As mentioned in the introduction, the people living in developing countries are

struggling to have access to clean water due to a lack of resources, which exposes

them to significant health problems. Without proper knowledge with regards to water

treatment, the people tend to settle on risky water treatment methods using the

available scarce resources, which harms their health in the long run. A potential solution

is to implement Household Water Treatment (HWT) because it improves water quality

while preventing disease, and it is known to be safe and sustainable.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, household water

treatment happens at the point of water collection or use, rather than at a significant,

centralized location; thus, it improves water quality and reduces diarrheal disease in

developing countries. Thus, a research conducted by the Department of Infectious and

Tropical Diseases of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says that “the

use of adequate HWT methods was observed to be particularly low among the poorest

households, which are also likely to suffer from higher levels of risk associated with

waterborne disease.” (Rosa and Clasen, 2010, para. 31) This is why PSI
representatives suggest the need for a more systematic approach to reach people and

introduce the use of sustainable household water treatment methods. Hence, educating

people on proper water sanitation while using sustainable resources will not only help

prevent waterborne diseases from prevailing but will also help conserve resources for

future use.

Another solution is to use dry sanitation methods to properly dispose of wastes

without needing the use of water as a carrier of the collected excretes. This method is

more commonly known as a compost toilet, and it has been around for a very long time.

However, it is becoming primitive because flushing toilets have become the norm.

Patient, J. (2012) emphasizes that we should not disregard the practicality and

effectiveness of this solution because it is still applicable to unplanned areas that do not

have an actual sewage system. One-third of the world’s population does not have

access to toilet facilities. They have no choice but to relieve themselves out-in-the-open.

As a result, sewage and human excreta, which are supposed to be properly contained,

are visible in plain surroundings, making people more susceptible to diseases. This

claim is evident by the statistical data of the World Health Organization (2019), saying

that 432,000 annual deaths are associated with poor sanitation because it contributes to

the number of bacteria and parasite cases. Aside from the health benefits that this

method offers, it also allows the collected waste to be used as fertilizer for crops, more

beneficial use of the byproduct (Scott, 2002).

 Dry sanitation is commonly associated with proper waste management, as

improper disposal of the collections by this system would only prove to have the same

adverse effects it aims to prevent. Pay Dreschel added that human waste could become

a solution to other problems by stating that “While human waste management is a

challenge, it also offers a business and development opportunity that could benefit

millions of poor farmers,” (Smith, 2015, para. 7). Lastly, this method proves to be a

cost-effective approach to easing the sanitation problem of SDG #6, as the materials

required to build a dry sanitation system are readily available almost anywhere,

because it only requires a small area and some cement.

While there is a limited supply of water for human consumption, developing

countries are struggling with the lack of access to adequate sanitation methods

involving clean drinking water which exposes the people to significant health problems.

The lack of access to proper sanitation is brought upon by the scarcity of plans and

resources in developing countries. One way to solve this problem is to implement strict

control over the existing laws and regulations on urban planning because people do not

usually follow these rules due to a lack of knowledge on the risk of improper sanitation.

With this, it will be advantageous to introduce the use of household water treatment

which is a sustainable method to improve water quality and prevent diseases. Thus, dry

sanitation methods must be utilized to conserve water. Hence, neglecting sanitation

problems will lead to serious health-related issues as people consume water from risky

and improper sanitation methods.

References​:

Claudio, L. (2015). ​Wastewater Management in the Philippines.

https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/wipo_ip_mnl_15/wipo_ip_mnl_15_t

4.pdf

Echazu, A., Bonanno, D., Juarez, M., Cajal, S., Heredia, V., Caropresi, S., Cimino, R.,

Caro, N., Vargas, P., Paredes, G., & Krolewieki, A. (2015, Sept. 9). ​Effect of Poor

Access to Water and Sanitation As Risk Factors for Soil-Transmitted Helminth

Infection: Selectiveness by the Infective Route.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4589369/#__ffn_sectitle

Household Water Treatment.​ (2015, February 03). Retrieved from Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention: ​https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/household-water.html

Magtibay, B. B. (2006). ​Philippine Regulations on Sanitation and Wastewater Systems

(INTERNATIONAL EDITION) ​(Vol. 2). Imus, Cavite: B.B. Magtibay's Publishing

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Opportunities. Relief Web.

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New Urban Planning Strategies for the Philippines. ​(n.d.).

https://www.citiesalliance.org/sites/default/files/CA-in-Action-Philippines.pdf

Patinet, J. (2012). Dry Toilets in urban crises: the case of Kabul. Susana.

http://www.susana.org/_resources/documents/default/2-1618-83-dry-toilets-in-urb

an-crises--the-case-of-kabul-j-patinet.pdf

Roberts, S.(2018, January 10). Key Facts: Poverty and Health. Health Poverty Action.

https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/news-events/key-facts-poverty-and-poor-hea

lth/

Rosa, G., & Clasen, T. (2010). Estimating the scope of household water treatment in

low- and medium-income countries. ​The American journal of tropical medicine

and hygiene,​ ​82​(2), 289–300. ​https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0382

Scott, E. (2002). ​Dry Sanitation Solutions.​ ​http://jrtph.jcu.edu.au/vol/v01scott2.pdf

Smith, J. (2015 September 19). Human Waste Reuse: Solution to a Growing Sanitation

Problem?. Our World.

https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/human-waste-reuse-solution-to-growing-sanitation-pr

oble

United Nations (n.d.). Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all. United
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World Bank Group. (2015). ​Water Supply and Sanitation in the Philippines.

https://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp/files/publications/WSP-Philippines-WSS-Turning-F

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​ orld Health Organization.

World Health Organization (2019, June 14). ​Sanitation. W

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation

5 WAYS TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO SANITATION. (​ 2017, November 08). Retrieved

from PSI: ​https://www.psi.org/2017/11/5-ways-improve-access- sanitation/