Employing community led total sanitation approach in improving sanitation practices towards zero open defecation in a Subanen community in Don Victoriano Chiongbian, Misamis Occidental /
Nadia Opalla Manlegro.
- xii, 92 leaves : color illustrations
Graduate School of Public and Development Management
Persisting practice of open defecation in a Subanen community is better understood in considering social status and cultural behavior. Numerous international and local strategies and studies to improve sanitation include Community Led Total sanitation (CLTS). Local data in Don Victoriano Chiongbian, Misamis Occidental shows persistence of low access to toilet facilities and continuous practice of open defecation especially in the rural areas and among communities of Indigenous Peoples. Factors such as lack of funds, problems with access to water, behavioral problems and cultural norms were seen as the reasons for persistence of this problem. The study looks at the effect of the CLTS approach to the sanitation practices in a 51 household Subanen community of Sitio Ninang in Don Victoriano Chiongbian, Misamis Occidental. There was an emergence of a community initiated collective strategy leading to an increase in access of households to toilets (from 66.67% to 78.43%), decrease in intestinal parasitism cases among households (from 29.41% to 21.57%), and attainment of zero open defecation practice in the community. This paper anticipates similar effect of the CLTS approach in other Lumad and IP communities in the Philippines.