Household Access to Safe Sanitation in Papua is the Lowest Nationally

Based on 2019 BPS data, Papua has the lowest national rate of household access to safe sanitation at 38.27 percent. This means that more than 60 percent of households in Papua still lack access to safe sanitation. This correlates with a private toilet ownership rate (equipped with a septic tank) of only 43.7 percent.

East Nusa Tenggara has the second-lowest rate of household access to safe sanitation at 64.55 percent. Above this province are Central Kalimantan (69.23%), West Kalimantan (72.08%), and Bengkulu (75.91%). All are below the national average of 77.3 percent.

Access to safe sanitation is part of access to adequate sanitation. Safe sanitation refers to sanitation facilities owned by a household and connected to a septic tank. Adequate sanitation, on the other hand, refers to sanitation facilities that meet health requirements: used by the household alone or with specific other households, equipped with a swan-neck toilet, and a septic tank for final waste disposal.

Globalwaters.org states that 34 percent of Indonesia's poor population lacks access to adequate sanitation, and 63 percent lack access to safe drinking water. The limited access to sanitation and clean water makes the Indonesian population vulnerable to diarrhea. Diarrhea accounts for 31 percent of deaths in infants under one year old and 11 percent of deaths in children under five.

Poor sanitation also contributes to the high rate of stunting among Indonesian children. Clean water and sanitation are Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that must be met by 2030. Children with access to safe sanitation will be protected from waterborne diseases and have a better quality of life.

Safely managed sanitation is a top priority for health, nutrition, community productivity, and is an explicit target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. Achieving SDG 6 requires a strategy that more closely reaches the poorest Indonesian children and families by ensuring the supply of water and sanitation hygiene.

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