A multilevel analysis of improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia: Using 2019 Ethiopia mini demographic and health survey

Jember Azanaw; Eshetu Abera; Asmamaw Malede; Mastewal Endalew

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1063052

A multilevel analysis of improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia: Using 2019 Ethiopia mini demographic and health survey

Front Public Health. 2023 Feb 14:11:1063052. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1063052. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jember Azanaw¹, Eshetu Abera¹, Asmamaw Malede², Mastewal Endalew¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
² Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Background: Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is an important element for communicable disease control including the existing COVID-19 pandemic. This is due to the growing water demand and decreasing water availability, because of shrinking resources, increased urbanization, and pollution. This problem is higher, particularly among least developed countries like Ethiopia. This study, therefore, aimed at investigating the level of improved water sources and sanitation as well as their predictors in Ethiopia using EMDHS-2019.

Method: Mini Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys 2019 database survey was used in this study. Data collection took place over 3 months, from 21 March 2019 to 28 June 2019. A total of 9,150 households were selected for the sample, of which 8,794 were engaged. Among involved households, 8,663 were successfully interviewed at a response rate of 99%. The dependent variables measured in this study were improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities. Due to the nested nature of DHS data, multilevel binary logistic regression analysis was done using Stata-16.

Results: The majority (72.62%) of household heads were men, and 69.47% of participants were from rural areas. Close to half (47.65%) of study participants did not have any form of formal education, while the lowest proportion (9.89%) of them had higher education. Approximately 71.74 and 27.45% of the households have accessed improved water sources and sanitation, respectively. Based on the final model results, wealth index, educational status, and having a television individual-level variables while community-level poverty, community-level education, community-level media exposure, and place of residence were statistically significant predictors of getting improved water source and sanitation.

Conclusion: The level of access to improved water sources is moderate but it lacks progress, while access to improved sanitation was lower. Based on these findings, great improvements should be made in providing access to an improved water source and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia. Based on these findings, great improvements should be made in providing access to improved water source and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia.

Keywords: EDHS; Ethiopia; access; improved sanitation; improved water sources.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Demography
Drinking Water*
Ethiopia
Female
Humans
Male
Multilevel Analysis
Pandemics
Sanitation

Substances

Drinking Water

Grants and funding

This Open Access publication was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)–491094227 Open Access Publication Funding and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation.