Usage and Microbial Safety of Shared and Unshared Excreta Disposal Facilities in Developing Countries: The Case of a Ghanaian Rural District

Peter Appiah Obeng (), Eric Awere (), Panin Asirifua Obeng, Michael Oteng-Peprah, Albert Kaabieredomo Mwinsuubo, Alessandra Bonoli and Sharon Amanda Quaye
Additional contact information
Peter Appiah Obeng: Department of Water and Sanitation, University of Cape Coast, P.M.B. University Post Office, Cape Coast, Ghana
Eric Awere: Department of Civil Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast P.O. Box DL 50, Ghana
Panin Asirifua Obeng: Department of Civil Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast P.O. Box DL 50, Ghana
Michael Oteng-Peprah: Department of Water and Sanitation, University of Cape Coast, P.M.B. University Post Office, Cape Coast, Ghana
Albert Kaabieredomo Mwinsuubo: Department of Water and Sanitation, University of Cape Coast, P.M.B. University Post Office, Cape Coast, Ghana
Alessandra Bonoli: DICAM Department, University of Bologna, via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Sharon Amanda Quaye: Independent Researcher, Accra P.O. Box CT-2912, Ghana

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: Sharing facilities with other households offers the most realistic opportunity for access to sanitation for many households in low-income settings. However, questions remain about the safety of shared toilets, including those shared at the household level. This study sought to compare the usage and microbial safety of household-level shared and unshared toilets in a Ghanaian rural district to investigate any association between their microbial safety and sharing status. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the user characteristics of the sampled toilets, while common contact surfaces (door handles and toilet seats) were assessed for faecal contamination following standard swab sampling and analytical protocols. The results of the study indicate that sharing toilets affords about 90% more household-level access to sanitation as compared to single-household toilets. Toilet sharing mostly occurred between two households, with a maximum user population of 14 per toilet. Generally, there was a high prevalence of faecal contamination on the door handles and seats of both shared and unshared toilets, but this had no association with the sharing status of the toilets. The median concentration of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) on the door handles and seats of shared toilets was 34.3 × 10 5 and 103.2 × 10 5 CFU/mL, respectively, as compared to 54.7 × 10 5 and 125.0 × 10 5 CFU/mL, respectively, on unshared toilets. In conclusion, the sharing of toilets at the household level nearly doubles access to sanitation at home without necessarily exposing the users to a higher risk of faecal–oral disease transmission.

Keywords: shared sanitation; microbial safety; toilet sharing; toilet usage; Ghana; SDG 6.2; excreta disposal facilities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10282/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10282/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10282-:d:1182481

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().