Health is defined by the World Health Organization or WHO as a “state of physical,

mental and social well-being in which disease and infirmity are absent”. Health is primarily
linked to hygiene and sanitation. These are integral components of healthy living. Hygiene
refers to a person’s daily activities for maintaining a clean body while sanitation, according to
Wikipedia, is “public health conditions related to clean drinking water and adequate treatment
and disposal of human excreta and sewage”. These practices and conditions safeguard the
human body from the spread and transmission of diseases by keeping the human body illness-
free as well as providing a clean environment. However, even with improvements in the
promotion of proper hygiene and sanitation systems brought about by the new era urbanization
and industrialization, the pressing problem regarding poor hygiene practices and restricted
access to sanitation facilities in poverty-stricken communities is still yet to leave the spotlight. In
the community in which we had our exposure trip, we have observed that the road leading to the
area has its sewerages blocked with trash and soil, leaving the rainwater (from previous days)
stagnant. Moreover, it was disclosed by ma’am Shirley Hasan—our interviewee—that most of
the residents in the area acquire water from a nearby water pump, which bases from personal
observation looks old and rusty. This information leads us to conclude that the water they get is
unsafe. In relation, an article published by Water.org in 2018 reported that nearly 7 million out of
105 million Filipinos have been drinking water from unimproved, unsafe and unsustainable
water sources. Moreover, 24million Filipinos have been putting up with the lack of access to
improved sanitation for years and still have no avail to this day. This problem needs major
attention because unsafe sources of water provide passageways for bacteria of deadly water-
borne diseases like cholera, hepatitis, and diarrhea to infect human bodies. The UN press
statement revealed an alarming fact: “Every eight seconds, a child dies from water-related
disease” (as cited by Tacio, 2018).

Aside from inadequate hygiene and sanitation problems, we also have observed that the
area has no proper waste disposal. Trash removal services do not reach the area, resulting in
families burning down their trash to dispose of their wastes. This resort has its health at risk
since inhalation of smoke is known to harm our respiratory system. Furthermore, not only does
this activity harm their health, but it also contributes to the accumulation of greenhouse gases
which is the primary cause of major environmental problems like global warming and climate
change. But, this information seems to go unremarked by the residents since the burning of
waste appears to be more frequent than it should be. If these problems continue to exist, not
only will the health of the residents be at stake, but it will have an impact on a global scale.
 References

World Health organization (1948). Definition of health. Retrieved from

https://www.wikihow.com/Cite-the-WHO-in-APA

Wikipedia (2019, October 14). Sanitation. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitation

Tacio, H. (2018, March 8). When water causes diseases and deaths. Retrieved from
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2018/03/08/when-water-causes-diseases-and-deaths/

Water.org. (n.d.). Philippines' water and sanitation crisis [Web log post]. Retrieved from
https://water.org/our-impact/philippines/