The public has been advised to construct better sanitary facilities such as toilets and use them in avoiding diseases that originate from poor sanitation.
Deputy Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government, Mr Kassim Majaliwa
The call was made by the Regional Administration and Local Government Deputy Minister (Education), Mr Kassim Majaliwa, when marking the Global Handwashing Day, World Toilet Day and National Cleaning Day in Singida.
Mr Majaliwa said the public should also cultivate the habit of washing hands with soap every time they use the toilet or before eating and should also drink clean and safe water.
He said one of the challenges facing the nation for a long time is frequent diseases that are a result of poor sanitation.
“A good number of diseases can be prevented through adhering to health principles including keeping the environment we live in clean,” he said, adding that this will only be possible if the communities improve the standards of cleaning the environment and washing hands with soap after using toilets.
He said that washing of hands reduces diseases such as diarrhoea by 42 per cent to 50 per cent, noting that 760,000 under five year old children die due to diarrhoea every year in the world.
The Deputy Minister explained that the state of cleanness in the country is not satisfactory, especially toilets in homes, institutions, health centres and bus stops.
“Statistics show that 22 per cent of homes in towns and 9 per cent in villages are the only ones with clean toilets,” he explained.
To address the challenge, Mr Majaliwa said the government has strategies in place that by 2015, more than 45 per cent of homes in towns and 35 per cent in villages will have toilets that are of the required standards. End/jer
By ABBY NKUNGU, Tanzania Daily News