Shared but Clean Household Toilets: What Makes This Possible? Evidence from Ghana and Kenya

Prince Antwi-Agyei, Isaac Monney, Kwaku Amaning Adjei, Raphael Kweyu and Sheillah Simiyu
Additional contact information
Prince Antwi-Agyei: Regional Centre of Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES), Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), P.O. Box 214, Sunyani BS0061, Ghana
Isaac Monney: Department of Environmental Health and Sanitation Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, P.O. Box M40, Mampong 3JG3+PFQ, Ghana
Kwaku Amaning Adjei: Department of Civil Engineering, Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre (RWESCK), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), PMB, University Post Office, Kumasi AK448, Ghana
Raphael Kweyu: Department of Geography, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Sheillah Simiyu: Urbanisation and Well-Being Unit, African Population & Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Shared sanitation facilities are not considered as basic sanitation owing to cleanliness and accessibility concerns. However, there is mounting evidence that some shared household toilets have a comparable level of service as private toilets. This study examined the factors that contribute to the quality of shared household toilets in low-income urban communities in Ghana and Kenya. The study design comprised household surveys and field inspections. Overall, 843 respondents were interviewed, and 838 household shared sanitation facilities were inspected. Cleanliness scores were computed from the facility inspections, while a total quality score was calculated based on 13 indicators comprising hygiene, privacy, and accessibility. Regression analyses were conducted to determine predictors of cleanliness and the overall quality of the shared sanitation facilities. More than four out of five (84%) shared toilets in Ghana (N = 404) were clean, while in Kenya (N = 434), nearly a third (32%) were clean. Flush/pour-flush toilets were six times ( p < 0.01 aOR = 5.64) more likely to be clean. A functional outside door lock on a toilet facility and the presence of live-in landlords led to a threefold increase ( p < 0.01 aOR = 2.71) and a twofold increase ( p < 0.01 aOR = 1.92), respectively in the odds of shared sanitation cleanliness. Sanitation facilities shared by at most five households (95% CI: 6–7) were generally clean. High-quality shared toilets had live-in landlords, functional door locks, and were water-dependent. Further studies on innovative approaches to maintaining the quality of these high-quality shared toilets are needed to make them eligible for classification as basic sanitation considering the increasing reliance on the facilities.

Keywords: household shared sanitation; low income; cleanliness; basic sanitation; Ghana; Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/4271/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/4271/ (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:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:4271-:d:786166

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

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