Abstract
Background Access to at least a basic water service, improved sanitation, and hygiene contribute to the human health and socioeconomic development of a country. This study was conducted to assess the water and latrine service coverage and related factors among dwellers of Negele town, southeast Ethiopia. Method Two Kebeles (small administrative units) were randomly selected from each of the three zones of the town to collect data via questionnaires from randomly selected household heads (380), interviews of purposely selected key informants (40), and personal observations employing a cross-sectional survey design from March to May 2018. A Chi-square test was conducted to examine the association between various demographic factors and having latrine/tap water. Result Latrine coverage of the town was low (45%) mainly due to shortage of land or funds and expansion of illegal houses. The available latrines were poor in hygiene. Water service (solely tap water) coverage was very low (7.6%) as a result of deficient water sources and nonfunctioning pipelines. The zones, age, educational status, marital status, and family size of the participants were statistically significantly associated with having latrine or tap water, p < 0.05. The administration of the town has planned to build four public toilets and raise its water supply coverage to about 70% by 2019/2020. Conclusion Coverage of latrine and water services of Negele town were so low, implying that it is not on track to achieve the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goal target 6.1 and 6.2. The administration of the town should provide land to residents and search for fund sources for the construction of standardized private and public toilets. Utilizing various water sources, maintaining nonfunctional, and constructing new pipelines should be promoted to improve the water service coverage of the town targeting the national and UN sustainable development goals.
Highlights
Access to at least a basic water service, improved sanitation, and hygiene contribute to the human health and socioeconomic development of a country. is study was conducted to assess the water and latrine service coverage and related factors among dwellers of Negele town, southeast Ethiopia
The information is lacking at regional level in many cases and the national magnitude varies in different reports, the national estimated coverage of basic drinking water and basic sanitation in Ethiopia was 41% and 7%, respectively, in 2017 [4]. is Journal of Environmental and Public Health showed that the country had not achieved the targeted 100% improved hygiene and sanitation coverage by 2015 and the country was not on the correct track to successfully extend safe water supply to 98% rural and 100% urban dwellers by 2020 via Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) program [5]
Description of the Study Area. is research was conducted at Negele town, located in Guna district, Arsi zone, Oromia region, southeast Ethiopia (7°21′N; 38°42′E). e town was established on a landscape of 300 hectares in 1984
Summary
Access to at least a basic water service, improved sanitation, and hygiene contribute to the human health and socioeconomic development of a country. is study was conducted to assess the water and latrine service coverage and related factors among dwellers of Negele town, southeast Ethiopia. Coverage of latrine and water services of Negele town were so low, implying that it is not on track to achieve the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goal target 6.1 and 6.2. Utilizing various water sources, maintaining nonfunctional, and constructing new pipelines should be promoted to improve the water service coverage of the town targeting the national and UN sustainable development goals. Access to potable water and sanitation facilities like latrines is a basic human right and is related to social and psychological well-being, public health, socioeconomic development, and environmental sustainability [1]. The country should work to achieve the United Nations development goals, open defecation has been commonly practiced throughout Ethiopia, for instance, by 28 million people in 2015, due to lack of hygiene awareness, adequate policy, and income [3]. Open defecation and lack of access to safe water have likely contributed to the wide prevalence of common waterborne diseases, and some recently emerged life-threatening Acute Watery Diarrhea (48,814 cases and 880 deaths in 2017) and cholera (6,578 cases and 56 deaths in 2017) as described by WHO [6] and Tesfay and Biru [7]), respectively, across the country
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