The Availability of Improved Sanitation Facilities and Its Associated Factors in the 12th District of Kandahar City, Afghanistan

Abstract

Background. The majority of people practicing open defecation and utilizing unhealthy sanitation facilities are in the developing world. The utilization of unimproved sanitation facilities remains the primary risk factor for many diseases, including nutritional diseases, diarrheal diseases, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery, particularly among children. Objectives. This study was carried out to assess the availability of improved sanitation facilities and factors associated with it in the 12th district of Kandahar city, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Methods. The study is a cross-sectional survey, conducted between September and October 2019. A structured questionnaire was used to gather self-reported information of the respondents, including sociodemographic information, household characteristics, and behavioral and environmental characteristics of the available sanitation facilities. Factors associated with the availability of the improved sanitation facility were determined using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results. In this study, the availability of improved sanitation facilities was 85.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 77.6%–92.1%). It was significantly influenced by living in a private house (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.99 (95% CI; 1.43–6.26)); inside location of latrine (AOR = 14.31 (95% CI; 3.59–56.99)); individual household latrine (AOR = 2.03 (1.04–3.95)); and the number of latrines in the household (AOR = 5.04 (2.45–10.35)). Conclusion. The availability of improved sanitation facilities was higher compared to the national level in the study area. This study provides significant evidence on approaches in line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Joint Monitoring Program and Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) for enhancing the availability of improved sanitation facilities in Kandahar city.

Household access to basic drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities: secondary analysis of data from the demographic and health survey V, 2017–2018

“…Thus, 34.32% had access to improved sanitation facilities. Studies in Ethiopia, Ghana, Vietnam and Afghanistan found percentages ranging from 12 to 85.7% [22,23,[28][29][30]. The results of a study in Malaysia indicated that this country has almost achieved universal coverage of improved sanitation facilities [24].…”

“…For these interventions to be successful, the surveillance of progress in coverage of WASH services needs to be enhanced, and the inequalities that determine household access to these facilities need to be better understood. According to studies in Africa and Asia, the factors associated with household access to improved or basic WASH services were the characteristics of the household head and the composition, wealth and environment of the household [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. So far, in Benin, there is scarce information on disparities in people's access to WASH facilities.…”

Moving Up the Sanitation Ladder: A Study of the Coverage and Utilization of Improved Sanitation Facilities and Associated Factors Among Households in Southern Ethiopia

“…The presence of a sanitation facility does not guarantee its proper use, according to past studies. [19][20][21] The disparity between availability and utilization suggests that some members of the community are uninformed of sanitation-related diseases. Management and eventual elimination of a disease may be challenging if a given population does not regard it as a significant public health issue.…”

A multilevel analysis of improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia: Using 2019 Ethiopia mini demographic and health survey

“…More than one-fourth (27.45%) of the households accessed improved sanitation in Ethiopia. This finding was lower than the findings from Zambian (74.6%) (28), Kandahar City, Afghanistan (85.7%) (32), and a Rural Area of Haryana, North India (84.8%) (33). However, this finding was higher than the study done in Ghana (14% 0.06) (34).…”