The
series of training on Health Problems in Indonesia held by Stube HEMAT
Yogyakarta encouraged me to look back at the reality in my hometown in Nias,
especially the reality of health problems. Indeed, the current attention of the
people of Indonesia and the world is still caught in the pandemic, but it does
not mean ignoring other health problems. It can be seen that a part of the
training encouraged the participants to review health problems in their
hometowns.
The health problems I have observed in Nias regency cover the quality of healthy latrines, clean water facilities, and dirt-floor houses. Based on the BPS data of North Sumatra province in 2019, the distribution of households to the use of defecation facilities is categorized as follows: self use 42,15%, family 5,12%, public toilets 0,26%, not use 0,22%, and none 52,25% (the highest in North Sumatra province). The data shows that more than 50% of households in Nias regency do not have healthy and proper latrines. On the other hand, household drinking water sources are very diverse, from the pump well 1,53%, protected wells 13,60%, unprotected wells 32,22% (highest in North Sumatra province), protected springs 7,77%, unprotected springs 32,54% (highest in North Sumatra province), surface water 1,72%, and rainwater 7,82%. Meanwhile, the distribution of households that have access to proper drinking water sources is 29,15% (the lowest in North Sumatra province, although it increased between 2014-2018). Regarding households with dirt floors, in Nias Regency, there are 16,30% of households, the largest number in North Sumatra province.
The
reality above is commonly found in villages with minimum access to roads,
electricity/lighting, information technology, and other public facilities.
Besides, residents in these villages are low economic who are only able to
build wooden houses and dirt floors, so, consequently, most of their houses do
not have proper latrines or clean water. It does not mean that residents do not
care about the benefits of having a latrine and hygienic water, but they still
prioritize efforts to meet the primary needs of the family, so that the need
for proper latrine facilities is still neglected, and they use fields, ditches
or rivers behind their houses. Regarding the availability of water, the
families who do not have a permanent bathroom usually dig a well or water
reservoir covered with tent or tarpaulin with bamboo as poles and usually have
no roofs. Sometimes yellowish water is still used for bathing, washing
household furniture and clothes.
For
me who studies Governance Science, by looking at these health problems, I learn
to find alternatives for the problems that occurred in my hometown, for
example, the local government 'opened their eyes' and was asked to play a more
role by opening access to clean water through PDAMs even though gradually.
Meanwhile, related to the availability of latrines and improving the quality of
house floors, the village government can take initiatives as a form of a 'sense
of crisis' for the basic needs of the community by promoting the construction
of household latrines which are included in village development to increase the
social solidarity of the community and improve the quality of life. ***
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