Abstract
Water-, sanitation-, and hygiene-related diseases are killing many people each year in developing countries, including Rwanda, and children under the age of five are the most vulnerable. This research assessed human waste disposal practices, knowledge on diseases caused by contact with human faeces, and knowledge on causes and prevention of selected WASH-related diseases. One thousand one hundred and seventy-three students were interviewed out of 2900 students. The results showed, regarding students’ waste disposal practices, that 96.3% use latrines, 20.5% practice open defecation in bushes, and 3.2% defecate in water bodies. Regarding knowledge on diseases caused by contact with human faeces, 56.9% responded that they were aware of cholera, 26.5% of diarrhoea, 2.2% of dysentery, 0.3% of malaria, 0.1% of shigellosis, and 3.8% of typhoid. The majority of the respondents, between 50–99%, could not identify the main causes of the WASH-related diseases. This paper also showed that students lack health knowledge in regard to WASH-related diseases’ causes and prevention. Therefore, the provision of water and sanitation infrastructures should go with the provision of health education on how to avoid these diseases and possible ways to improve the well-being of the students both at home and in their various schools.
Highlights
Water, sanitation, and hygiene term (WASH) represents a growing movement focusing on improving quality of life by reducing WASH-related diseases [1]
In regard to the students who used bush toilets as a method of human waste disposal, across both rural and urban schools, the results showed that 20.5% used open defecation in bushes, about 31.1% used open defecation in rural areas, while about 5.3% used open defecation in urban areas
Many students (10.1%) did not know any disease caused by contact from human faeces, and this can affect their attitudes and practices toward open defecation in bushes and water bodies
Summary
Sanitation, and hygiene term (WASH) represents a growing movement focusing on improving quality of life by reducing WASH-related diseases [1]. Inadequate sanitation, hygiene, or access to safe water increase the incidence of diarrhoea diseases and deaths, which mostly occur in developing countries, including most African countries [5,6,7]. Trachoma has caused the visual impairment of 1.8 million people, with its impacts mostly occurring in developing countries, as poverty, crowded living conditions, and poor sanitation help in spreading the disease [10]. The poor hygiene practices and lack of access to improved water and sanitation facilities in Rwanda increases WASH-related mortality and morbidity [23,24,25]. World Health Organization and Rwandan Biomedical Centre, flood dispersal of faecal contaminants, water shortages, poor sanitation and hygiene practices, and insufficient knowledge are among the key causes leading to increased risks of outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera [26]. This paper assesses students’ knowledge on water-, sanitation-, and hygiene-related diseases in randomly selected rural and urban schools in Musanze District in Rwanda, with a focus on human waste disposal practices, diseases caused by contact with human faeces, and the causes and prevention of some WASH-related diseases
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