Geita — GEITA: GEITA District Council health department has said that 71.1 per cent of all households have proper and safe toilets while the remaining 28.9 per cent do not have access to proper and safe toilets.
Geita DC Health Officer, Mr Kimwago Singo presented the statistics recently in an exclusive interview with the 'Daily News' during the World's Toilet Day.
He noted that the statistics are according to the four years of research held by the National Sanitation Management Information System (NSMIS) from September 2019 to September 2023.
Singo said despite that, the council has made progress in the use of proper and safe toilets by 10.6 per cent within four years, from 60.5 per cent in 2019 to 71.1 per cent in September 2023.
He said so far the number of households with toilets of any type has increased from 96 percent in 2019 to 99 percent in 2023.
Mr Singo said this indicates that the number of households without toilets (either proper or improper) has decreased from four percent to one percent, indicating that these households defecate in informal areas.
"The government continues to insist on washing hands with clean water and soap to remove the pathogens soon after toilet use.
"Up to date, statistics show only 21.4 per cent of all households in the council have proper facilities or infrastructure for washing hands with clean water and soap," said Singo.
The Assistant Health Officer in Geita District Council, Mr Joseph Sombela advised people to change their attitudes based on concrete steps towards building, using and maintaining proper toilets.
Mr Sombela emphasised that a proper toilet should have a floor that can be cleaned with water, walls with privacy, a door that closes well, a strong roof, a toilet that does not expose feces.
"If a toilet does not have a roof, for example, it becomes a nuisance when the sun is hot and when it rains, the rain also causes water to fill inside the toilet and leads to environmental pollution.
"The issue of cleanliness of toilets is important in controlling infectious diseases, we urge that toilets be cleaned regularly to prevent bad smell and insects that can spread pathogens."
