Abstract
Attaining sustainable sanitation in urban slum community is still an issue and continues to be a gap. Furthermore, factors associated with sanitation practices among slum dwellers has not been yet well explored in many low income countries, such as Ethiopia. This study was designed to determine the sanitation practice and associated factors among slum dwellers residing in urban slums of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A community based cross-sectional study was employed. The systematic random sampling technique was used to select households from the slum community in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A pre-tested structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were computed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify associated factors. A total of 335 slum dwellers were involved in the study, of which 64.5% of the households use unimproved sanitation facility and 78.3% of the sanitation facilities were in poor condition. Less than half, 46.9% (95%CI: 41.5, 52.2%) of the slum dwellers had good sanitation practices. Having an improved sanitation facility (AOR= 7.27, 95%CI: 3.09, 17.05), having pour-flush type of sanitation facility (AOR= 4.32, 95%CI: 1.99, 9.39), presence of solid waste collection container inside the house compound (AOR=4.26, 95%CI: 2.02, 8.97), and good hygienic knowledge (AOR=4.37, 95%CI: 1.87, 10.24) were factors associated with good sanitation practice. Poor sanitation practices and unhygienic sanitation facilities were widely reported by slum dwellers and acute in the urban slum of Addis Ababa. Escalating household improved sanitation facilities along with strong health promotion programs on sanitation and hygiene practice is recommended. Key words: Urban sanitation, sanitation practice, hygiene knowledge, informal settlements, slum, Kirkos sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Highlights
Attaining sustainable sanitation is still an issue and continues to be a gap throughout the globe
Poor sanitation practice is responsible for 4% of deaths and 5.7% of morbidity (WHO and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2012; WHO and UNICEF, 2014).The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.5 million preventable deaths per year result from unsafe water, inadequate sanitation or hygiene and these deaths are mostly among children less than five years old (Prüss-Üstün et al, 2008a)
This finding is higher than a study conducted in North Ethiopia that reported 22.6% of the cases witnessed foul smell and and had inconvenience during use (17.8%) (Ashebir et al, 2013); this inconsistence may be due to study area difference; since our study was conducted in urban slum area that is characterized by poor sanitation facility and the presence of faeces on the floor might be explained due to presence of shortage and interruption of water supplies as it is reported by the majority of households
Summary
Attaining sustainable sanitation is still an issue and continues to be a gap throughout the globe. Among the world’s regions, Sub-Saharan Africa continue to have the lowest levels of sanitation facility coverage; 44% of the population uses either shared or unimproved facilities (WHO and UNICEF, 2012; WHO and UNICEF, 2013; WHO and UNICEF, 2014) This situation was worse among urban slum dwellers, mainly due to poor sanitation facilities and unhygienic conditions (Erik and Uno, 1994; WHO and UNICEF, 2013; Mubarak et al, 2016). Several studies reported intestinal parasitic infections are common in high risk vulnerable populations such as urban slums (Mbae et al, 2013; Akimbo et al, 2011; Appleton et al, 2009)
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