According to SNV, 1 million Lampung residents still do open defecation.

Kupastuntas.co, Bandar Lampung - Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (SNV) said that of the 9 million people in Lampung, around 1 million people do not have access to a toilet or defecate as such.

"That does not include what we call closed defecation," said I Nyoman Suartana from SNV Indonesia's Urban Sanitation Specialist, at the Emersia Hotel, Tuesday (19/4/2022).

Nyoman explained that in a closed manner, it means that 1 million people have a toilet in a closed manner, but because their houses are on the banks of rivers, ponds, and so on, they don't use septic tanks or healthy latrines, but throw them directly into the pond or river.

"So this behavior indirectly discusses water sources. Especially in areas where the distance between houses and the water source is very close, so it is important for the community to have a septic tank and the distance to the air source is maintained," he said.

According to him, of the 15 regencies/cities in Lampung that have been Open Defecation Free (ODF) or have stopped defecating, there are Pringsewu, South Lampung, Metro and Way Kanan.

However, for proper sanitation in Lampung Province itself, there are the first data from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and data released by the Minister of Health. Where the two data still overlap.

"But we refer to data released by Lampung Province, where access to proper and safe sanitation is around 66.69 percent. While the target in 2024 in Lampung is around 90 percent," he wrote.

Therefore, SNV's efforts are important to encourage the government to share with related parties, including with the community how to solve this sanitation.

"Because this sanitation problem cannot be solved by the government alone, and the government also cannot sit idly by with the situation and conditions that occur in Lampung Province," he said.