Understanding the socioeconomic and environmental indicators of household water treatment in Nigeria

Ismaila Rimi Abubakar

Utilities Policy, 2021, vol. 70, issue C

Abstract: Household water treatment (HWT) contributes to a significant reduction in waterborne diseases, especially among vulnerable populations in developing countries. This study assesses the socioeconomic and environmental indicators of HWT among Nigerian households. Cross-sectional data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The findings show low adoption (8.1%) and disparities in HWT among the households. Boiling water is the most dominant method of HWT (24.6%), followed by alum (22.6%), straining water through a cloth (22.1%), chlorination (12.8%), allowing water to stand and settle (10.6%), and filtration (7.0%). The odds of adopting HWT are high in wealthier households, male-headed households, households with heads educated to at least secondary school level, and households residing in Southern Nigeria. This low adoption and disparity in HWT could significantly undermine public health and exacerbate socioeconomic and regional inequalities. The present study recommends subsidies and microcredits on purchasing HWT products for large-scale adoption of HWT in Nigeria. Behavior change communication is also essential for HWT diffusion among vulnerable populations of developing countries.

Keywords: Alum and boiling; Behavior change communication; Chlorination and filtration; Drinking water safety; Household treatment; Solar disinfection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957178721000436
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

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:eee:juipol:v:70:y:2021:i:c:s0957178721000436

DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2021.101209

Access Statistics for this article

Utilities Policy is currently edited by Beecher, Janice

More articles in Utilities Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().