Health, sanitation vital for community

Kukum Fishing Village chief Robert Satu shows the seafront, which is a lifeline for many families and communities along the coastal plains of Honiara. Picture: ROMEKA KUMARI

By ROMEKA KUMARI, Wansolwara 

COMMUNITIES along the coast of Honiara are tackling the impact of climate change one day at a time.

For Kukum Fishing Village, situated along the Kukum Highway, east of Honiara in the Solomon Islands, the effect of climate change on their social system and health has become a concern.

Village chief Robert Satu told Wansolwara that the issue of climate change had affected food sources, health and sanitation for coastal communities.

He said many people in Honiara were dependent on the sea and river for their livelihood.

“Health and sanitation is a concern because many people use the river and sea for sanitation. This has led to various health problems,” Mr Satu said.

While more than half of the households have their waste collected by government waste collectors, at least 36 per cent dispose of their garbage in the sea, according to a 2014 climate change vulnerability assessment report on Honiara by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

“Many people find it convenient to use the rivers and sea for sanitation purposes but they don’t realise they are polluting the environment, a place some even consider a food source,” Mr Satu said.

About 26 per cent of the total population of Kukum Fishing Village have flush private toilets while 59 per cent use shared water sealed toilets, the UNDP-UN Habitat report stated.

“According to the community focal group discussions, one of the significant issues for them is the depletion of fish catch. Inadequate income from fishing affects their food security, since they are now more dependent on the market compared to before. Sourcing food in a market system is challenging due to increasing prices,” the report said.

UN-Habitat Solomon Islands consultant Steve Likaveke shared similar sentiments, and said financial constraints were a stumbling block for most families wanting to build proper housing and sanitation in informal settlements.

“Many villagers in the informal settlement do not have jobs that earn them good money and because of that reason, it is hard for these people to build proper sanitation facilities,” Mr Likaveke said.

Traditionally, Kukum Fishing Village depends on fishing as a source of income but recent studies show that households are shifting to other sources of income.

Located in the Vura Ward, Kukum Fishing Village comprises an area of about four hectares and a population of 463 — 227 men and 236 women.

“It has a density of 115 persons per hectare and an average household size of eight. The Fishing Village is exposed to storm surges and sea level rise, as well as some flooding from the surface runoff from the hills.

“The coastline exhibits signs of coastal erosion from previous storm surges, wave action, and sea level rise,” according to the UNDP-UN Habitat report.

While there are no studies in the Solomon Islands to link health and climate change as indicated by an increase in disease incidence, the UNDP-UN Habitat report states that people in the city are exposed to vector-borne and water-borne diseases, such as malaria and diarrhea, that can easily be exacerbated by climate change impacts.

Agencies such as Australian Aid has played a hand in improving the health of many people in Honiara, including those living in Vatukola Village, northwest of Honiara in Guadalcanal. Vatukola Village Chief Michael Sarapidina said they appreciated the Australian Aid’s assistance in tackling dengue and malaria cases in the area.

“Many of the sufferers of dengue and malaria were able to get the treatment they needed. Agencies like Australian Aid are lending a hand to improve the health system in the country,” he said.

*The original article appeared in Wansolwara Issue II, 2019, which was published as an insert in the Fiji Sun on December 1, 2019.

* Reporting for this story was supported by a grant from EJN’s Asia-Pacific program.