Delvhain Duo digs the wet sandy ground in front of her three room house, for her 9-year-old son, Rahinha to toilet. No one knows better than Madam Duo, the risks of burying feces here.
Rahinha is the first of 27-year-old Madam Duo's three children. But now there are only two. Last year her youngest, Elisha, was only 18 months old, when he became sick.
Improperly disposed of feces can contaminate waterways and food leading to diseases like dysentery, diarrhea and cholera. Thousands of Liberians, including babies, are becoming sick and dying from waterborne diseases each year. Sickness is also causing time from work, undercutting economic growth. Madam Duo's community is a good example of the challenges in improving access to toilets in rural areas. Her village, known as Christian Community, actually has three government toilets, according to Mambahn's Town Chief, Robert Cooper.
In this community, as in others across the country, there have been efforts to compel people to install toilets whenever a new house is built. But the cost - $US200 to $US300 - is too much for most according to Chief Cooper. "There is no reason somebody should die from water borne diseases in this country when we have enough water," Mr. Kpeh said."We have enough resources to provide the necessary water, but just the political will we need, and the willingness of the government to take the lead."
But Mr. Kpen says the government cannot be serious unless it massively increases the two percent of the national budget that is currently allocated to the sector.
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