Residents don't have toilets

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi: The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) says 65 percent of residents in the province don't have toilets, hence the high prevalence of diarrhea.

Antara quoted Unicef representative for Indonesia Stephen J. Woodhouse saying here yesterday many people still defecate in open places such as paddy field embankments, on river banks or by the beach.

"This habit leads to frequent outbreaks of diarrhea, one of the major killer diseases among Indonesian children," Woodhouse said in a discussion Wednesday marking the Clean Friday Movement. He was accompanied by the Family Welfare Movement's chief activist Mrs. Moch. Yogie S.M.

The mortality rate for children here is 40 percent. The province's population is 76 million. (swe)