A cross-sectional study on sanitation and hygiene in rural villages in Southeastern Maharashtra: On our way to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal No. 6

Abstract

Introduction: Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-6 highlights the importance of clean water and sanitation. The Swachh Bharat Mission, a flagship program of the Government of India, aims at ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water, hygiene, and universal access to effective systems for disposing of waste, especially in rural areas; this, in turn, is of mammoth importance for achieving the SDG-6 by 2030. The present study was thus devised to determine the availability of sanitation facilities and assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding hygiene among residents of villages in Southeastern Maharashtra. Materials and Methods: This community-based study used a multistage sampling technique to select study participants. The duration of the study was one month. The study involved 1663 participants. A Marathi-translated version of the pretested questionnaire was used, which enquired about the socio-demographic details, availability of water and sanitation facilities along with questions to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding sanitary latrines, use of footwear, hand washing, and domestic waste disposal. Association of socio-demographic profile with different parameters assessed in the questionnaire was assessed using SPSS software (version 26.0); results were considered significant if p<0.05. Results: The study involved 1663 participants with a mean age of 36.7 years, (SD=12.9 years). Water was available to all the households. All the villages had an open drainage system. Sanitation facilities were lacking in 23 households. Open-air defecation was practiced in 6.9% of the households. All the family members used footwear while going out in 68% of the households. Hand-washing was practiced by 43% of the population. Sixty-nine percent of the study participants disposed of domestic waste in the garbage pits dug in their backyard which was later burnt, whereas 31% disposed of in the surrounding premises. Conclusion: Open defecation still exists. The awareness regarding sanitation, footwear use, hand washing, and domestic waste disposal was better among literate participants. With just a few years left to the 2030 deadline to achieve the SDGs, we must inject a sense of urgency and immediately accelerate our actions at the individual and community levels.