Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
A CONSIDERABLE number of households are still operating without proper sanitation services, including critical ones such as blair toilets, exposing their communities at risk of diseases like cholera.
This also derails the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal Number Six.
The apparent lack of proper sanitation leads to severe health risks, environmental contamination and loss of dignity.
A toilet at any homestead is a must have as this key room facilitates people to relive themselves in a closed and safe environment.
It also separates the people and their excreta in a proper manner, therefore minimising the chances of getting diseases associated with poor handling of human waste.
Some citizens are still disposing their waste in fields, bushes and open water bodies as they are reluctant to invest in proper toilets.
According to the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZimLAC) 2024 Rural Livelihoods Assessment Report, 13 percent of Manicaland households are still practising open defecation.
Buhera District leads with more than a third of the households having no toilets (36 percent), followed by Makoni 14 percent, Chipinge 11 percent, Mutare nine percent, while Chimanimani and Nyanga are tied at seven percent.
In Manicaland, shortages of toilets are mainly prevalent in rural and resettlement areas, and a check by The Manica Post revealed that it costs around US$150 to construct a standard blair toilet.
Lack of toilets, and open defection, are still a global challenge, and according to the United Nations, 3,5 billion people live in areas with poorly managed sanitation, while a staggering 419 million practices open defecation.
The UN has set aside every November 19, as the World Toilet Day, as a way to conscientise the global community on the relevance of an open defecation free society.
“This essential space, at the centre of our lives, should be safe and secure. But for billions of people, sanitation is under threat from conflict, climate change, disasters and neglect. ‘Safe toilets for all by 2030’ is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6, but the world is seriously off track.
“3,5 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation, including 419 million who practises open defecation. Faster action to improve people’s access to sanitation is critical to building a fairer, more peaceful world. Conflict, extreme weather events and disasters can destroy, damage or disrupt sanitation services. When toilet systems don’t work or don’t exist, untreated human waste spreads in the environment, unleashing deadly diseases such as cholera.
“Governments must ensure that sanitation and water services are resilient, effective, accessible to everyone and shielded from harm,” said the United Nations in statement.
Buhera Rural District Council chairman, Councillor Thomas Matsenhura said in the past, there was no positive attitude towards building toilets in the district.
He said they are putting in place measures to force communities to practice good hygiene.
“We have a new by-law stipulating that by September 2025, all households should have a functional toilet. When the village head allocates someone a place to set up a homestead, the first structure should be a toilet, and that must be adhered to.
“There will be some form of enforcement to make sure this happens. We will start with persuasions involving traditional leaders. People have relaxed, and not taking sanitation issues seriously, but a few years ago, we had a serious cholera outbreak. Council is sensitising communities on the importance of toilets, and our social service department is working with councillors conscientising people on proper and good hygiene.
“In the past, there were development partners that handed out cement to villagers and trained builders to construct proper toilets, but unfortunately there are no stringent follow-ups and the cement was used to construct other structures instead of toilets,” said Councillor Matsenhura.
Acting Chief Makumbe instructed village heads to ensure that every household has a proper blair toilet.
He discouraged his subjects from constructing pit latrines, which he described as ‘mikoka nhunzi’.
“I now allow all my village heads to fine all households without a blair toilet a cock. Whoever refuses to comply must be reported to my court so that we can deal with them. We do not want another cholera outbreak in this area, and to achieve that we will not tolerate open defecation. We will not allow you to relieve yourselves in bushes and field at this will put my people at risk. Let those with ears heed my call. You can only ignore this at you own peril. This time we are really serious,” said Acting Chief Makumbe while addressing mourners in Ward Six, Buhera West Constituency last weekend.
Mutasa Rural District Council chairman, Councillor Paddington Nemaunga also said they are working hand-in glove with village health workers to push villagers to have proper toilets.
“We are in the process of finalising a number of policies around hygiene and sanitation issues in the district, and the by-law is on its way. We do not want to record cholera cases in the area. Generally, after the 2008 cholera outbreak, there has been tangible improvement on disease prevention,” he said.
Development practitioner, Mr Regis Matimati, who has done extensive work on water, sanitation and hygiene across Africa, said without proper sanitation communities are at risk of severe health issues, including spread of deadly diseases like cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid.
“In Zimbabwe, access to proper sanitation remains a significant challenge, particularly in rural areas. Around 15 percent of the rural population still practices open defecation, leading to health risks and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
“Urban areas generally have better sanitation infrastructure with piped water systems in cities. However, peri-urban and informal settlements often rely on makeshift pit latrines or shared toilets, which are often overcrowded and unsanitary.
“Zimbabwe’s sanitation challenges stem from socio-economic barriers, outdated infrastructure, climate impacts and limited financial resources, affecting vulnerable groups like women, children and people with disabilities.
“There is need to carryout impactful interventions such as rehabilitation and construction of toilets in schools, market places, public spaces, villages and households as well as introduction of innovative and inclusive facilities that improve hygiene standards and well-being of thousands of families. There is urgent for action to improve sanitation infrastructure, fostering better health outcomes, saving lives restoring dignity and driving sustainable economic growth,” said Mr Matimati.
