TY - JOUR
T1 - Progress and slippage of sanitation and hygiene targets in Malawi
T2 - is SDG6.2 achievable?
AU - Hinton, Rebekah Grace Kudakwashe
AU - Tremblay-Lévesque, Laurent Charles
AU - Macleod, Christopher
AU - Troldborg, Mads
AU - Kanjaye, Modesta
AU - Kalin, Robert
PY - 2024/8/1
Y1 - 2024/8/1
N2 - Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to achieve ‘access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defae-cation’ by 2030. We present an in-depth investigation of sanitation and hygiene practices of 939 Malawian households in two districts, previously declared open defaecation-free (ODF). We evaluated whether ODF status was maintained by evaluating access to sanitation and hygiene. We found that 17% returned to open defaecation, and faeces were observed around 10% of the households. We suggest that ODF status is not enough; work is required to maintain progress and consideration of construction quality is critical. Another barrier to SDG 6.2 was that only 7.9% of households had handwashing facilities with soap and water, with soap as a major limitation. However, most households (82%) had soap available for washing suggesting that soap is not being prioritised in handwashing.
AB - Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to achieve ‘access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defae-cation’ by 2030. We present an in-depth investigation of sanitation and hygiene practices of 939 Malawian households in two districts, previously declared open defaecation-free (ODF). We evaluated whether ODF status was maintained by evaluating access to sanitation and hygiene. We found that 17% returned to open defaecation, and faeces were observed around 10% of the households. We suggest that ODF status is not enough; work is required to maintain progress and consideration of construction quality is critical. Another barrier to SDG 6.2 was that only 7.9% of households had handwashing facilities with soap and water, with soap as a major limitation. However, most households (82%) had soap available for washing suggesting that soap is not being prioritised in handwashing.
KW - handwashing
KW - hygiene
KW - open defaecation
KW - sanitation
KW - sustainable development goals
U2 - 10.2166/washdev.2024.263
DO - 10.2166/washdev.2024.263
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85203401433
SN - 2043-9083
VL - 14
SP - 633
EP - 644
JO - Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
JF - Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
IS - 8
ER -