An article by Nadya Natahadibrata, The Jakarta Post.

Despite government efforts to raise awareness of the importance of hygienic living and improved sanitation facilities, many Indonesians still have no access to clean water and basic sanitation services.

The Health Ministry’s director of environmental health, Wilfried H. Purba, said on Friday that based on the ministry’s 2013 Environment Health Risk Assessment (EHRA) survey result, further effort was required to increase the outreach of water and basic sanitation services.

According to the survey that was conducted in 55 regencies and cities throughout the archipelago, 75.4 percent of people in South Kalimantan are still defecating in open areas as well as some 72 percent and 70 percent in West Kalimantan and Maluku. The assessment also shows that Banten has the highest percentage of people with no access to safe water (62 percent), followed by Central Java (49.6 percent) and West Java (48.5 percent).

Data from the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) showed that up until 2013, 42 million Indonesians were still defecating in open areas outside their houses, including rivers.

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