In a statement, Governor Ongchuan emphasized the goal of promoting environmental sanitation and fostering a healthy citizenry in the province through incentives for ZOD-declared municipalities. The Department of Health (DOH) officially declared Catubig and San Roque as ZOD municipalities in August and November 2023, respectively, following a rigorous validation process.
The provincial government highlighted that achieving ZOD status in these towns was a result of collaborative efforts involving local chief executives, municipal health officers, and designated provincial and rural sanitary inspectors. Earlier, Mapanas, Bobon, and Mondragon towns in Northern Samar attained ZOD status in 2022.
The ZOD campaign, spearheaded by the DOH, aims to ensure that every household has a basic toilet facility by 2025 to advance universal health care. According to the DOH, as of 2019, only 11 percent of villages nationwide (4,625 out of 42,045) are certified ZOD, where people have abandoned open defecation practices and adopted proper toilet use and handwashing.
Open defecation, the disposal of human waste in open spaces like fields or bodies of water, is a significant public health concern. Catubig, a third-class town with a population of 32,174, and Bobon, a fourth-class municipality with a population of 25,964, are among the municipalities making strides in achieving ZOD status.
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