DETERMINANTS OF COMMUNITY LED TOTAL SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN IMPROVING WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE; THE CASE OF HALABA SPECIAL WOREDA, SOUTHERN, ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

Ethiopia is undertaking the Community Led Total Sanitation & Hygiene approach in the past 10 years. However, only very few researches have been conducted. This research was aimed at identified difference among the communities where Community Led Total Sanitation and Hygiene implemented and the determinants. The study was done by cross sectional study using close ended questionnaire for the sampled households and triangulated the information by interviewing the key informants. As per the target for the thesis, majority of the respondents (93%) were female & 61% of them illiterate. The average household size of the study area is 6.95 which is higher than average population size of the Country. Of the sampled respondents 94% of them has access to safe water supply pipe/public water tap whereas the average water per capital consumption was 8.7% l/p/d which is very small. On the other side, 29% of HHs‟ stated that their water source are unfit for drinking. From the sampled 59.7% of the respondents store their drinking water at HH while the rest not. The major determinant for the HH water storage practice is; container unavailability, the material cost and the amount of water they collect too small. As stated in the finding most respondents use latrine for excreta disposal while only 3.3% practice open defecation. On the other side, the sanitation status of the latrine those observed are poor like they have no superstructure/shelter, slab and handwashing facility. The major determinants that hindered the resident community to improve their Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene includes 45% Economic shortage, 22% poor knowledge, 18% initial and maintenance cost, 8% human labour, and the rest 4% and 3% family size and comparative preference to defecate in field/bush respectively. Hence it concluded that the Community Led Total Sanitation and Hygiene very profound to improve the Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene particularly in mitigating Open Defecation Free whereas the technical feasibility factors, the socio-economic factors are major determinants while environmental factors insignificant relatively as investigated in the study area