Jakarta – The practice of open defecation in rivers and other open spaces is still rampant in West Jakarta, an official has said.

"If you look at [the rivers] closely, there are some yellow stuffs [feces] in the river's currents. So, there are a still a lot of residents defecating in the open, including in rivers in West Jakarta," West Jakarta Health Agency head Weningtyas Purnomo Rini said on Wednesday as reported by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

She went on to say that to combat open defecation and in commemorating the 54th National Health Day in November, the agency had declared an open defecation free (ODF) movement in three subdistricts in West Jakarta. "[The ODF] is one of the pillars of community-based total sanitation [STBM]," Weningtyas said.

The three subdistricts are Joglo, Meruya Selatan and Tanjung Duren Selatan. The previous ODF subdistricts in 2017 and 2018 were Pekojan, Duri Utara and Sukabumi Utara, then in February this year Tamansari and Kalideres were added to the list.

"Until today in Jakarta, West Jakarta is the second in which its subdistricts have been open defecation free. On this National Health Day we focus on teens, because behavioral changes must start soon. Because teens are also agents of change that can change the residents' behavior," she said. (ami)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/12/12/open-defecation-still-rampant-in-west-jakarta.html