Adiem Boma, in Gogrial West County of Warrap State, has been declared the first Open Defecation Free area in South Sudan.
UNICEF, who made the announcement today in Juba, said Adiem was free from open-air squatting through the Community Led Total Sanitation programme.A survey carried out in 2010 showed about two million South Sudanese have access to toilets while the remaining six million defecate in the open.
Community Led Total Sanitation Specialist Philip Otieno explained to CRN that the program empowers communities to understand their sanitation and see the negative effects of open defecation.
He said the communities then dig pit latrines to stop squatting in the open.
The specialist added that success in Adiem Boma was due to efforts from the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, the women and youths who mobilized their resources and an active sanitation committee that sensitized people to stop open air defecation.
Mr Otieno explained that an area is declared Open Defecation Free when a village or a boma stops defecation in the open.
He said the key indicators include no faeces seen in the environment, every household has a latrine, the pit latrines are well maintained and covered and faeces from children are disposed of in the latrines.
Mr Oteino added that he will lead a team to verify 12 areas in Western Equatoria whether they can be declared as Open Defecation Free villages.
The Government of South Sudan aims at having half of rural households with access to basic sanitation within eight years.