Households Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities in Some Selected Local Government Areas in Borno State, Northeast, Nigeria

Borno State is among the states in Nigeria that is faced with numerous challenges related to sanitation and hygiene issues. Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are very crucial in influencing healthy conditions and general wellbeing of a society. The poor and unsafe access to WASH plays a key role in transmission of various diseases. This study sought to assess respondents awareness and practices in relation to access to water sources, treatment, storage, sanitation and personal hygiene in fifteen communities of three local government areas in three senatorial districts of Borno State employing structured questionnaires and site observations for data collection. The data were analyzed using percent and frequency distribution tables that exhibits percent differences of the variables.
The study identified tvarious sources of water supply with boreholes (57.7%) as the major sources of drinking water supply been utilized in the area. The study also identified few participants (32.7%) got their water within 100 – 500meters distance and the study further demonstrates that majority of respondents (50.6%) do not treat their water before consumption. Findings also revealed majority of young girls (39.7%) and women (18.8%) were responsible for fetching water in households and with a relatively lower cost 25.3% of buying water and some of the participants even claimed the cost is cheap 23.9% for households. Water storage facility and collection, the study shows 38.2% of the respondents stored water in plastic covered container and 22.6% of respondents use cups with handle to draw water in households.
The result revealed that majority of the households 37.7% use private latrine and 31.2% use shared latrine. Respondents claimed lack of funds led to use of shared latrines, poor excreta disposal systems and high open field defecation practices. On the aspects of hygiene, children’s faeces were mostly disposed into a toilet (54.1%) and use soap to wash hands after defecation (19.3%). The major diseases reported in the communities is typhoid (54.8%). Perception on exposed excreta of children, 43.9 % reported that children’s faeces are harmful. Personal hygiene of the respondent’s exhibits respondents had poor knowledge of hygiene with regards to hand washing hygiene, bathing, and clothes hygiene, irrespective of their educational level. The results show 26.1% of respondents reported use of soap as the major opinion in all the selected LGAs for the domestic washings. Despite WASH interventions which aim to prevent and control transmission of bacteria, viruses and parasites. The poor knowledge of hygiene and unsafe access to WASH plays a key role in transmission of various diseases. WASH interventions with regards to safe water, storage facility for portable water, latrines for sanitation and soap for hygiene, bath and hand washing. This findings will be a useful information on the consequences of poor hygiene practices and sanitation facilities for both residents and authorities. The study recommends that the data obtained can serve as a blueprint to government or private organizations working towards upgrading standard of WASH practices, which would assist in providing appropriate facilities towards enforcing safe hygiene practices across the communities and state at large.

Knowledge, Practice, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, Environment.

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