Access to Sanitation Facilities among Nigerian Households: Determinants and Sustainability Implications

Abstract

Access to improved sanitation facilities is key to the socioeconomic wellbeing and sustainable development of any society. This study examines access to sanitation facilities in Nigeria and explores the socioeconomic and locational factors that influence the type of facility used by households. The study utilizes cross-sectional data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, and employs descriptive and inferential statistics for data analyses. The results indicated that 44.2% of households used various kinds of pit latrines, followed by toilets that flush to septic tanks (10.3%). While only 5.3% of the respondents used toilets that connect to sewer systems, about a third (31.5%) lacked sanitation facility and the remaining 8.7% used other types of sanitation facilities. Results from chi-square analysis and ANOVA revealed significant statistical differences between the type of sanitation facility households used and their place of residence, geopolitical zone, ethnicity, educational attainment and wealth. Multivariate regression results indicated that the type of household sanitation facility is significantly associated with the mentioned factors as well as household size, gender of the head of the household, type of water sources, number of rooms and access to electricity. Age of the head of the household and type of cooking fuel used were not significant. The study concludes by underscoring the implications of using unimproved sanitation facilities on human health and environmental sustainability.

Appraisal of on-Site Sanitation Facilities and Solid Waste Management in Public Places Within Akure Municipality, Nigeria

“…Corresponding to this was noted by Alam and Mondal [55], that only 57.7% of the people in the urban of Bangladesh have access to sanitation facilities. In addition, Abubakar [30], reveals that two-third of Nigerians still use unimproved sanitation facilities which has led to sanitation crisis in the country. Although, Non-Government Organization are working with the Government to tackle this problem in order to meet the SDGs, nevertheless, serious monitoring structure must be put in place in all States and Local Government of the country.…”

“…The JMP reported no more than an elaborate detail of similar rural/urban areas sanitation data, and the NDHS study assesses types of sanitation facilities by place of residence and regions with no respect to operation and maintenance. Besides, a recent review on urban sanitation in Nigeria thrusting on the previous, present and future status of access, policies and institutions stated vividly that keen attention has been directed solely on the access to facilities [13] at countryside/municipal and regional levels and throughout socio-economic divisions [30,31] while other stages of the life cycle of urban sanitation are not often considered especially lack of studies on the evaluation of onsite sanitation facilities. More so, public spaces play a very vital role in the economic life of the people and strengthen the economic base of a town as they are the crucial ingredient of successful cities.…”

Dimensions of Inequality in Urban and Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Access to improve sanitation varies in the zones/regions, between urban and rural, rich and poor, educated and uneducated amongst others. For example, in Nigeria the practice of open defecation range from 3.6-8.8% in the six geographical zones, with the Northwest having the lowest (3.6%) rate, while the North central zone had the highest (8.8%) prevalence rate (Abubakar, 2017). Similarly, in Mozambique, the practice of open defecation ranged from two per cent to 75%, with Niassa having the lowest (two per cent), while Zambezia had the highest (75%) prevalent rate (WHO & UNICEF, 2014).…”

“…Studies have also noted that wealth and education status, determines the type of sanitation facility used by a household. Those without education are more likely to defecate in the open, and the population practicing open defecation appears to decline with increasing levels of education (Abubakar, 2017;WHO & UNICEF, 2014).…”

Sanitary Facilities Location in Nigeria: Implications for population Health

“…In Nigeria, whereas, access to water and sanitary facilities have significantly improved through the proliferation of borehole water and septic tanks construction (Abubakar, 2017), the issue of location of these facilities in terms of their conformity with laid down standards has been quite challenging. As quest for socioeconomic opportunity drives population towards an already congested urban center, the Nigeria urban spaces have become blighted with wanton location of sanitary facilities within the neighborhoods (Abubakar, 2017).…”