Safe drinking water and sanitary facilities utilization in households of Belagavi urban slums, Karnataka, India

Authors

  • Jambulingam Vasanthakumar Department of Community Medicine, Panimalar Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  • Bhuvana Gajula Department of Community Medicine, Vydehi Institute of Medical Science and Research Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka
  • Shilpa Reddy Ganta Department of Community Medicine, Teerthankar Mahaveer Medical College and Research Centre, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20200968

Keywords:

Improved drinking water, Improved sanitation, Urban slums, WHO/UNICEF JMP

Abstract

Background: Safe water and adequate sanitation are basic to the health of every person, yet many people throughout the world do not have access to these needs. Access to these basic services is not only a fundamental right, but also a steppingstone to sustainable development of the country. Objective of this study was conducted to measure the proportion of slum households using improved drinking water and sanitation facilities.

Methods: Study was conducted among 620 slum households in Belagavi from by interviewing one member from each household using WHO/UNICEF joint monitoring program core questions on drinking water and sanitation for household surveys.

Results: All the slum households (100%) used improved drinking water source; piped water in yard or plot (68.22%) being the primary source. 94.35% of households used improved water source for cooking and/or hand washing purpose. 49.03% of households used improved sanitation facilities and 55.97% used unimproved sanitation facilities. Proportion of households with no latrine facilities and practicing open defecation were 13.06%. About 27.69% households had reported diarrheal events in children in the previous month. Type of latrine used by households was found significantly associated with the diarrheal events in children.

Conclusions: Utilization of safe drinking water in Belagavi slums has increased when compared to global and national levels but households with piped water supply are still low. Access to improved sanitation facilities is still lacking in many households. Increasing access to basic sanitation at the household level and behavior change awareness programs could help in achieving universal sanitation coverage.

Author Biographies

Jambulingam Vasanthakumar, Department of Community Medicine, Panimalar Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Department of Community Medicine

Bhuvana Gajula, Department of Community Medicine, Vydehi Institute of Medical Science and Research Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka

Department of Community Medicine

Shilpa Reddy Ganta, Department of Community Medicine, Teerthankar Mahaveer Medical College and Research Centre, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

Department of Community Medicine

References

WHO/UNICEF. Core questions on drinking-water and sanitation for household surverys. World Health Organization 2006;25.

United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2018/interlinkages/ Accessed 02 January 2020.

World Health Organization. Key facts from JMP 2015 report. Available at: https://www.who.int/ water_sanitation_health/publications/JMP-2015-keyfacts-en-rev.pdf?ua=1. Accessed 02 January 2020.

Bhar1 D, Bhattacherjee S, Mukherjee A, Sarkar TK. Utilization of Safe Drinking Water and Sanitary Facilities in Slum Households of Siliguri, West Bengal. Indian J Public Health. 2017;61:199-204.

International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and ICF. 2017. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16: India. Mumbai: IIPS. Accessed 02 January 2020.

Delhi NEW. “ Study of slums in belagavi (belgaum) city-a socio-economic and environmental perspectives ” University Grants Commission; 2015. Accessed 02 January 2020.

Government of India. International Institute for Population Sciences. National Family Health Survey‑4, State Fact Sheet. Karnataka: Government of India; 2015‑16. Accessed 02 January 2020.

Satapathy BK. Safe drinking water in slums: from water coverage to water quality. Economic and Political Weekly; 2014: 50-5.

Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); 2017. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

SuLatt TM, Myint T, Aung WW, Wai KT. Prevalence of household drinking‑water contamination and of acute diarrhoeal illness in a peri‑Urban community in Myanmar. WHO South East Asia J Public Health. 2015;4:62‑8.

UNICEF. On World Water Day, Poor Rural People Missing Out; 2012. Available at: http://www.unicef. org/moldova/media_19599. Accessed 02 January 2020.

UNICEF: Collecting water is often a colossal waste of time for women and girls. Press release 29 August 2016. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/ unicef-collecting-water-often-colossal-waste-time-women-and-girls. Accessed 02 January 2020.

Bawankule R, Singh A, Kumar K, Pedgaonkar S. Disposal of children’s stools and its association with childhood diarrhea in India. BMC Public Health. 2017;17:12.

Sahiledengle B. Prevalence and associated factors of safeand improved infant and young children stool disposal in Ethiopia: evidence from demographic and health survey. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):970

United Nations Children’s Fund. Child feces disposal in Madagascar; 2014. Available at: https://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Madagascar-CFD-Profile.pdf. Accessed 02 January 2020.

United Nations Children’s Fund. Child feces disposal in Nepal; 2015. Available at: http://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Nepal-CFD-Profile.pdf. Accessed 02 January 2020.

Slam M, Ercumen A, Ashraf S, Rahman M, Shoab AK, Luby SP, et al. Unsafe disposal of faeces of children <3 years among households with latrine access in rural Bangladesh: association with household characteristics, fly presence and child diarrhea. PLoS One. 2018;13(4):e0195218.

Garrett V, Ogutu P, Mabonga P, Ombeki S, Mwaki A, Aluoch G, et al. Diarrhoea prevention in a high-risk rural Kenyan population through point-of-use chlorination, safe water storage, sanitation, and rainwater harvesting. Epidemiol Infec. 2008;136(11):1463-71.

Kumar A, Das KC. Drinking water and sanitation facility in India and its linkages with diarrhoea among children under five: Evidences from recent data. Int J Humanit Soc Sci Invent. 2014;3:50‑60

Fewtrell L, Kaufmann RB, Kay D, Enanoria W, Haller L, Colford JM, et al. Water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to reduce diarrhea in less developed countries: A systematic review and meta‑analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2005;5:42‑52.

Wolf J, Prüss‑Ustün A, Cumming O, Bartram J, Bonjour S, Cairncross S, et al. Assessing the impact of drinking water and sanitation on diarrhoeal disease in low‑and middle‑income settings: Systematic review and meta‑regression. Trop Med Int Health. 2014;19:928‑42.

Downloads

Published

2020-02-27

How to Cite

Vasanthakumar, J., Gajula, B., & Ganta, S. R. (2020). Safe drinking water and sanitary facilities utilization in households of Belagavi urban slums, Karnataka, India. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 7(3), 1066–1071. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20200968

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles