The Prey Veng provincial administration marked its ODF status with a gathering to celebrate the achievement attended by representatives from national and international organisations and related government departments and institutions on October 25. PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION
Prey Veng has been declared the second “open defecation free” (ODF) province in Cambodia after Svay Rieng, meaning that every family in the province has access to a toilet, while Kandal has successfully achieved ODF status within the provincial framework.
On October 25, the Prey Veng provincial administration marked its ODF status with a gathering to celebrate the achievement attended by representatives from national and international organisations and related government departments and institutions.
The gathering included an awards ceremony through the Ministry of Rural Development, which announced the ODF recognition as part of the Cambodia Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Program (CRSHIP), for which Plan International Cambodia (PIC) is the executive agency with support coming from the Global Sanitation Fund 2011-2022.
Through this achievement, more than one million people in every family in Prey Veng province from 1139 villages, 116 communes, 12 districts and one city have been given access to latrines, which is a positive change for the province, according to PIC.
PIC added that Prey Veng was one of 11 provinces where CRSHIP began operations with less than 50 per cent sanitation coverage there. The programme promotes regular use of latrines, safe hand washing with soap and clean water through community-led total sanitation, school-based sanitation and capacity building of government, local authorities and NGOs to promote improved hygiene and sanitation practices.
While the achievements of Prey Veng province are a cause for celebration, PIC said it expects the province to continue to update its data and strengthen cooperation at all levels, including relevant authorities, the private sector and development partners to facilitate local development activities, especially to ensure the sustainability of ODF in all districts and communes and to achieve a higher level of ODF.
Yi Kim Than, deputy country director of PIC, told The Post on October 25 that this achievement was supported by many stakeholders working at different levels for many years to establish institutional implementation, implement sanitation inspection systems, establish community participation, establish sanitation markets and give subsidies to poor and vulnerable families to help them build toilet facilities.
He said that the role of the government, especially the Ministry of Rural Development, provincial administrations, rural development departments, district authorities, commune and village authorities was very important in ensuring the success in Prey Veng and progress in other provinces.
“Changing habits and implementing new habits is not easy, but it is very important. Eliminating open defecation reduces child morbidity and malnutrition, which affects children’s development, learning and future economic opportunities. Especially for girls and women, it helps to eliminate barriers to dignity and reduces the risk of accidents when travelling long distances or at night,” he said.
Kimthan said that the declaration of success for Prey Veng is the second one after Svay Rieng achieved ODF status earlier and the rural development ministry plans to achieve ODF in the three other target provinces of Kandal, Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Speu by 2023.
“For the purpose of PIC, in addition to joining the Ministry in its planning, we also have three other provinces – Ratanakiri, Stung Treng and Siem Reap – where we are supporting those provinces to reach ODF soon,” he said.
On October 24, 2022, the Kandal provincial administration also announced that the province had achieved 100 per cent completion of ODF within the provincial framework.
According to the Kandal provincial Rural Development Department, the environmental sanitation situation in the province in 2022 there are toilets in every household, of which 95.4 per cent had their own toilets and 4.6 per cent shared toilets.
Separately, at the municipal and district level, the province achieved 100 per cent ODF complete in 11 cities and districts with 127 communes equal to 1,010 villages.
Kandal Provincial Governor Kong Sophorn said that this is effort was led by a technical team of experts, as well as local authorities and institutions, which have joined together to achieve the completion of ODF within the provincial framework.
“All local authorities, all institutions must be educated in communities, institutions, schools, hospitals, pagodas and other service areas widely so that they adhere to hygienic measures, clean-up the environment and know how to pack garbage and solid waste properly and use trash bins to avoid litter and pollution,” he added.
