Background: This retrospective study was aimed to examine the distribution of some physicochemical parameters and its health impact in selected drinking water sources of Ethiopia. The study used 983 water samples collected from different regions of the country, and have been tasted in the Environmental Health Laboratory, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, from 2003 to 2011. The samples were collected from eight regions plus two administrative cities of the country and classified based on the source type as spring, well, and tap water. Methods:The physicochemical parameter analysis was executed based on standard method. Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS Statistical software were used for the statistical analysis of median and graph. Results:The median result indicates that some values are within the acceptable range (PH, magnesium, chloride and sodium from spring and tap water), but, there are some measured values in some regions which are out of the recommended limit, (total hardness and calcium in spring, tap and well water). On the other hand, very high Sodium and chloride concentration were recorded in spring, tap, and well water sources of the region such as Somali, Afar, and Oromia. Conclusions:Those water sources that do not conform to National Standard will result in public health problem in long time exposure. Therefore, the local water authority shall strengthen local water quality monitoring and control system as well as risk assessment and management mechanisms.

No abstract

Access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services is the most effective mechanism to reduce many infectious diseases. WASH in schools related to better educational outcomes although adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene services were unavailable to millions of school-age children in Ethiopia. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the level of WASH coverage and identify factors affecting access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 82 school facilities. A structured questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to gather the data. Water samples were taken from the schools' water storage. Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the data. In this study, 74.7%, 61. 3% and 37.3% of the schools had access to basic drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services, respectively. Additionally, 21.3%, 29.4%, and 30.7% of the schools had access to limited drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services, respectively. However, 4%, 9.3%, and 32% of the schools lacked water, sanitation, and hygiene services, respectively. We discovered that schools with male heads were 7% less likely to have access to basic hygiene services (AOR = 0.07 with 95% CI 0.01–0.5) than those with female directors. In addition, schools with hygiene and environmental health clubs had an 11.8-fold higher access rate to basic hygiene services (AOR = 11.8 with 95% CI 1.35–104) than schools without such clubs. Besides, schools that conduct WASH lessons at least once a week were 8.63 times more likely to use basic hygiene services (AOR = 8.63; 95% CI 1.18–63.22) than schools that did not. This study offers scientific evidence that could be used for sound decisions to fill the school WASH gaps. This is a unique study in determining the level of WASH coverage and identifying factors affecting access to basic hygiene services. The investigation provides some insights into how access to WASH services can be improved at the grassroots level. Federal and regional governments should implement effective interventions that assist schools to attain Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030. School administrators and other partner organizations should take proactive measures to enhance and maintain the WASH services.

In the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia, improved water is the main source of water for household purposes. Access to improved water closer to their homes benefits the community in many ways. It improves their health status, saves their time and energy, and improves their productivity in jobs and education they are engaged in. However, due to natural and human activities, improved water sources do not always deliver good quality of water. It can be contaminated by different pathogenic microorganisms and chemicals. The result indicated that 44.7% and 50.9% of the samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli and enterococci respectively, and from the sanitary condition survey, 57.6% of the water sources exhibited from intermediate-to very high-risk level. And the risk priority matrix identifies 95 (27.9%) samples with high risk and 54 (15.9%) of the samples with very high risk. The main risks identified at those

ObjectivesThe primary objective of this observational study was to assess the status of public place and workplace compliance with smoke-free provisions in Ethiopia.MethodsThis study was conducted in four regions of Ethiopia (Oromia; Sidama; Harari; and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region) from September to October 2021. Data were collected using a standardised smoke-free checklist. Χ2tests were used to assess the association between categorical variables and the smoke-free status. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the presence of at least one person actively smoking.ResultsApproximately 97% (95% CI 93.1%, 98.8%) of government buildings, 92.5% (95% CI 85.7%, 96.2%) of educational institutions, 89.8% (95% CI 86.3%, 92.5%) of bars, restaurants and cafés, 88.4% (95% CI 82.9%, 92.3%) of food establishments and 84.0% of hotels (95% CI 79.5%, 87.6%) were non-compliant with the tobacco control law. Overall, only 12.3% of sites met the requirements of the current smoke-free law. The multivariable logistic regression models showed that transit facilities (adjusted OR (AOR)=26.66 (95% CI 7.53, 94.41)) and being located in the Harari region (AOR=4.14 (95% CI 2.30, 7.45)) were strongly associated with the presence of active smoking observed during the site visit.ConclusionThis study indicated that public place and workplace non-compliance level was very high in all sites. This calls for more effective implementation of complete smoke-free provisions across all government buildings and institutions in all regions, such as public educational campaigns about the laws and enforcement action for non-compliance. Furthermore, all regional states should adopt Federal Proclamation 1112/2019.