An estimated 34 percent of the population in rural and urban communities is reportedly practicing ‘open defecation’ (poo in the bush) due to the lack of secured sanitation facilities.
The practiced situation, report said, continues to pose a serious public health and sanitation challenge.
The Executive Director of the National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Commission, Morris G. Gono, made the disclosure on Thursday, June 25, during the Ministry of Information press briefing in Monrovia.
Gono said, the situation reflects a gap in the country’s sanitation system, particularly in communities where households do not have access to proper toilets, waste disposal facilities and hygienic sanitation services.
Open defecation remains a major concern, “because it exposes communities to waterborne diseases, including diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, and other infections that can spread quickly when human waste contaminates water sources and public spaces.”
The situation is especially worrying in densely populated or shanty communities, where poor drainage systems, inadequate public toilets and limited access to clean water continue to create health risks for inhabitants.
Although Liberia has made progress in promoting water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs, the latest figures show that many citizens are still living without the basic facilities needed to protect their health and dignity.
Gono said: “Government is working on a high-level governance instrument intended to bring together responsibilities that are currently scattered among several ministries, agencies and institutions.”
The proposed instrument is designed to address the fragmentation in the WASH sector, where multiple institutions often carry out similar functions without clear coordination.
According to Gono, the new governance framework will help reduce duplication of responsibilities, clarify mandates, and strengthen accountability among institutions responsible for sanitation, public health, water supply and food safety.
Gono: “Government also intends to improve regular oversight, including stronger inspections and closer collaboration among relevant agencies.”
He said, the inter-agency cooperation is important to ensure that sanitation regulations, food safety standards, and hygiene requirements, are properly monitored and enforced.
However, the continued practice of open defecation raises questions about whether government policies have reached the communities most affected by poor sanitation, especially rural villages and low-income urban settlements.
With more than one-third of the population reportedly lacking access to secured sanitation facilities, public health advocates say the country must move beyond policy discussions, and invest more heavily in public toilets, household latrines, community awareness, clean water systems and stronger enforcement of sanitation standards.
