THE CURRENT SITUATION OF WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE (WASH) OF SANTAL COMMUNITY IN NAOGAON, BANGLADESH: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Bangladesh’s old ethnic group santal lives in northern part of Bangladesh mainly in Rajshahi division and faces high-level problems related to the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Though in terms of Bangladesh situation there is high improvement in water availability, the quality remains concern like the contamination of various bacteria, arsenic etc. causes of serious health issues. Also, Sanitation facility is readily available, but the lack of quality and proper infrastructure leads to high prevalence of different vector borne disease. Furthermore, inadequate hygiene practice contributes to the health problems, especially children under 5 years old. Up to date data along with addressing the WASH related issues is critical to improve the overall health and wall-being level of the population. Methods: The study was a cross sectional quantitative design based on a survey of 460 randomly selected santal community members. The questionnaires were developed to respondents to collect data on all observed WASH index variables such as the water access, sanitation and hygiene faciality availability and the socio-economic in one survey. Using descriptive technique and graph the analysis of the data was done to understand the WASH status and the variables influencing the status of WASH. Results: 97.8% of the respondents reported drinking water with 53% using deep tube wells as their main source and 77% of the respondents said they use surface water from rivers or ponds as their wash and trickle water. An important fact is that 84.8% of respondents consume water without any treatment at their homes. Also, according to the survey 39.3% houses have no toilet. Of those 60.7% who mentioned having a toilet at home, 52.40% used pit latrines with slabs. But 100% of the population reported that their community members had an open definition. From the survey, it is known that handwashing of people in this community is unsafe. While soap and

water are the main ingredients for hand washing, some people reported that they also wash their hands with ash and clay. 63.3% of people reported that there is no soap near the toilet in their home even though soap and water are the main ingredients. Finally, 23.30% respondents reported they did not know about the importance of hand washing. Conclusion: various problems related to water, sanitation and hygiene including inadequate water sources, poor sanitation and lack of proper hygiene practices faced by the Santal community. To change these, access to clean drinking water, development of sanitation systems and educating community members about the importance of hygiene and continuous assessment and monitoring to address their problems are needed. These measures will promote sustainable WASH practices and enable them to improve health and quality of life.