According to Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe (World Health Organization - Philippine Representative), “Around 50.3 million Filipinos (around 10 million families) do not have access to safely managed sanitation services, and of these some 24 million use limited/unimproved toilets or none at all. Implementing the Sustainable Development Goal on sanitation is an investment but inaction brings us even greater costs. Untreated waste from poor sanitation services has negative effects on the environment and can spread diseases that cause poor health and nutrition, loss of income, decreased productivity and missed educational opportunities.” Source: SANITATION TARGETS ARE OFF-TRACK: DOH, WHO AND UNICEF ASK LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO INVEST IN SANITATION https://doh.gov.ph/press-release/Sanitation-targets-are-off-track-DOH-WHO-and-UNICEF-ask-local-governments-to-invest-in-sanitation

 

Written by Prof. Glecy C. Atienza, Ph.D with original songs by Prof. Roberto Mendoza, "Hello Healthy, Goodbye Dumi!" tells the story of Barangay Olimpio’s Apat na K - Kara, Kokoy, Kaloy, and Kalila - who joined a television show contest to raise funds for their community toilet building project.  Luckily, their community is chosen to be the local venue of the show’s outreach program however, the show discovered that Barangay Olimpio’ does not have water supply and the families do not have toilets in their homes. The Apat na K investigates the cause of the malady - dirty water and the absence of hygienic practice among the community members. They engage the community, through its local health workers in raising awareness about the hygienic toilets, clean water and proper hand-washing to eliminate disease among its members and provide a good quality of life among its citizens. "Hello Healthy, Goodbye Dumi!" has won Gold in the 2017 Anvil Awards: Best Community Play for Children.  It also received The Quill Award of Excellence in 2018.