It is deeply worrying to observe a growing unhygienic practice taking root in parts of Wa township, where young children openly defecate into black polythene bags near public toilets. This emerging behaviour, though largely ignored, poses serious health risks and must be addressed urgently.
In many communities across the township, children as young as four or five can be seen holding small black plastic bags, which they use to defecate in open spaces around public toilet facilities. Afterwards, they tie the bags and throw them into rubbish bins or nearby dumping sites. Disturbingly, this occurs in the full view of adults who seem to regard it as normal.
This practice is not only unhygienic and dehumanising but also a potential breeding ground for dangerous diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, and typhoid fever. Many of these children, after defecating, do not wash their hands properly before eating food, further increasing their risk of infection. Some even soil themselves in the process of tying up and disposing of the waste, thereby exposing themselves to greater health hazards.
Indeed, this situation could explain why typhoid has become one of the most frequently reported diseases in our hospitals. If this practice is brought to an end, there is no doubt that the municipality would record a significant reduction, if not a total elimination, of typhoid cases and other sanitation-related infections.
What is even more concerning is that these children are likely to grow up accepting this behaviour as normal and continue the same practice in their homes and communities, even where toilet facilities exist. This points to a serious gap in public health education and sanitation planning.
If parents believe their young children cannot use adult-sized toilet facilities, then it is time for planners, engineers, and local authorities to rethink the design of public sanitation infrastructure. Every major toilet facility should include child-friendly units that are smaller, safer, and easier for children to use. Providing such facilities would prevent children from resorting to unhygienic and unsafe alternatives.
Equally important is the need for community education and sensitisation. Parents and guardians must be enlightened on the health risks associated with allowing children to engage in such practices. Local assemblies, environmental health officers, and civil society organisations should collaborate to intensify hygiene campaigns, focusing on child sanitation practices.
Children are the future leaders of this country, and it is our collective duty to ensure that they grow up in clean and healthy environments. Every parent, community leader, and public institution has a responsibility to instil proper sanitation habits in children from an early age.
The relevant authorities must also learn to be proactive rather than reactive. We cannot continue to wait for outbreaks of cholera or typhoid before introducing measures that could have been implemented long ago. Public health issues require foresight, planning, and prompt action.
The time to act is now. This unhygienic practice must be stopped immediately before it escalates into a full-blown public health crisis that could have been easily prevented.
We are all watching!
FAB's Gist
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