Phyllis D. Osabutey: 20 January 2011
The Behaviour Change Support (BHS) Project, together with its partners, Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) and Focus Region Health Project (FRHP), has disseminated the findings of their baseline survey concerning various aspects of health delivery, towards improving service in the sector.
The findings, which covered critical issues on malaria, water, sanitation and hygiene, family planning (FP), maternal, infant and child health, and health systems among others, were carried out in the Greater Accra, Central and Western, Volta and Eastern regions.
Among other things, the research aimed at establishing socio-economic and demographic characteristics of target households, identify the behaviour change communication needs, especially, concerning WASH, and assess the health care delivery and systems currently in place to inform programme interventions.
The three organisations, which are also partners of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), made the findings known to stakeholders in health service delivery and members of the media in Accra on Friday.
The Senior Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist of BCS, Mr. Joseph Sineka Limange, touching on malaria, said their finding indicated that the use of mosquito nets was still quite low, and that there was no meaningful difference in use by both sexes, as only 23.6% of the study population slept under any mosquito nets the previous night, while 17.4% slept under the Long Lasting Insecticide Net (LLIN).
On the other hand, 26.4% of pregnant women, who were sampled, slept under any type of net the previous day, while 22.1% slept under LLIN, and 35.5% and 27.9% of children under five slept under any type of net and LLIN respectively, the previous night.
On the whole, 41.2% and 35.6% of under fives in the Western Region slept under any type of net and LLIN respectively, while those for the Central Region was 39.6% and 27.7% respectively, and that for Greater Accra 29.5% and 17.8% respectively.
Also, there was a difference in use by rural and urban dwellers, which translated as 27.6% and 20.0% for any type of net and LLIN respectively, with that of urban being 48.0% and 36.3% respectively.
According to Mr. Limange, "Men seem to encourage their children to sleep under nets more than women," because, "while 62.4% of men indicated that their children slept under nets, only 59.1% of women indicated likewise."
The reasons for non-usage of mosquito nets by children, as indicated by the adult respondents, included the belief that it was too hot, the nets were worn out, nets not hung up, there were not enough nets, and no nets at all.
The respondents also believed the causes of malaria included mosquito bites, dirty areas/stagnant water, eating dirty food and drinking dirty water, while they perceived malaria as a threat to life, because it could prevent people from working and earning money, and slow a child's growth among others.
The M&E Specialist of Relief International, Mr. Saaka Adams, who touched on the WASH findings, said they sought to find out how to solve the problem of access to potable water, low patronage of water facilities at the rural level, and sustainability of water facilities among others.
According to him, the aim was to maximise the health impact for people through the use of potable water and other health facilities like toilets, and hygienic habits like washing of hands in the study areas.
In terms of access to water, he indicated that 32% of the respondents had access to potable water all year round in an improved water facility within 500 meters walking distance, with the Greater Accra Region having the highest rate of 39.7%.
On the other hand, 68% do not have access to potable water all year round, and used unimproved sources of water, usually from sources far from households.
Mr. Adams explained that transporting water from such sources to households often resulted in contamination, especially, because people often put in leaves or rubber into open containers used to carry water, so as to stabilise the water and avoid pouring.
He continued that while 97.5% of households stored water, 18% of them treated their water through methods such as boiling, use of alum and camphor, filtering, and other methods that are not entirely safe.
On access to sanitation, he observed that households used water closets, traditional pit latrines, Kumasi Improved Improved Pits (KVIPs) among others, adding that "21.5% of households have access to effective sanitation, with the regional access in the Western Region being 34.8%, and 10% for the Central Region."
He lamented that open defecation was still prevalent, constituting 66.7% in the Central Region, and defecation along the beaches entrenched in Teshie, because there were fewer sanitation facilities to serve the increasing number of people in the area.
He noted that there was also the practice of export, by which means people defecated into rubbers and containers to drop into gutters among others, while there was also shared use of latrines by more than one household of about 57% in the Central and 43.7% in the Western regions.
The M&E Specialist further stated that the study revealed that the disposal of baby feaces was often done by means of dumping in the bush (49%), rinsed into toilets (22%), refuse dump (17%), burying (9%), and left in the open (4%).
He gave physically challenged persons access to sanitation facilities as 45% in the open, 24% in the household, 14% in chamber pots and 17% in traditional pit latrines, with the major problem to them being the long distance they had to walk before accessing sanitation facilities.
The M&E Specialist of FRHP, Elizabeth Hammah, on her part, said their study identified gaps and areas of service provision that need strengthening, such as the need to ensure supportive supervision of health data management at facility level.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201101200682.html
The Behaviour Change Support (BHS) Project, together with its partners, Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) and Focus Region Health Project (FRHP), has disseminated the findings of their baseline survey concerning various aspects of health delivery, towards improving service in the sector.
The findings, which covered critical issues on malaria, water, sanitation and hygiene, family planning (FP), maternal, infant and child health, and health systems among others, were carried out in the Greater Accra, Central and Western, Volta and Eastern regions.
Among other things, the research aimed at establishing socio-economic and demographic characteristics of target households, identify the behaviour change communication needs, especially, concerning WASH, and assess the health care delivery and systems currently in place to inform programme interventions.
The three organisations, which are also partners of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), made the findings known to stakeholders in health service delivery and members of the media in Accra on Friday.
The Senior Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist of BCS, Mr. Joseph Sineka Limange, touching on malaria, said their finding indicated that the use of mosquito nets was still quite low, and that there was no meaningful difference in use by both sexes, as only 23.6% of the study population slept under any mosquito nets the previous night, while 17.4% slept under the Long Lasting Insecticide Net (LLIN).
On the other hand, 26.4% of pregnant women, who were sampled, slept under any type of net the previous day, while 22.1% slept under LLIN, and 35.5% and 27.9% of children under five slept under any type of net and LLIN respectively, the previous night.
On the whole, 41.2% and 35.6% of under fives in the Western Region slept under any type of net and LLIN respectively, while those for the Central Region was 39.6% and 27.7% respectively, and that for Greater Accra 29.5% and 17.8% respectively.
Also, there was a difference in use by rural and urban dwellers, which translated as 27.6% and 20.0% for any type of net and LLIN respectively, with that of urban being 48.0% and 36.3% respectively.
According to Mr. Limange, "Men seem to encourage their children to sleep under nets more than women," because, "while 62.4% of men indicated that their children slept under nets, only 59.1% of women indicated likewise."
The reasons for non-usage of mosquito nets by children, as indicated by the adult respondents, included the belief that it was too hot, the nets were worn out, nets not hung up, there were not enough nets, and no nets at all.
The respondents also believed the causes of malaria included mosquito bites, dirty areas/stagnant water, eating dirty food and drinking dirty water, while they perceived malaria as a threat to life, because it could prevent people from working and earning money, and slow a child's growth among others.
The M&E Specialist of Relief International, Mr. Saaka Adams, who touched on the WASH findings, said they sought to find out how to solve the problem of access to potable water, low patronage of water facilities at the rural level, and sustainability of water facilities among others.
According to him, the aim was to maximise the health impact for people through the use of potable water and other health facilities like toilets, and hygienic habits like washing of hands in the study areas.
In terms of access to water, he indicated that 32% of the respondents had access to potable water all year round in an improved water facility within 500 meters walking distance, with the Greater Accra Region having the highest rate of 39.7%.
On the other hand, 68% do not have access to potable water all year round, and used unimproved sources of water, usually from sources far from households.
Mr. Adams explained that transporting water from such sources to households often resulted in contamination, especially, because people often put in leaves or rubber into open containers used to carry water, so as to stabilise the water and avoid pouring.
He continued that while 97.5% of households stored water, 18% of them treated their water through methods such as boiling, use of alum and camphor, filtering, and other methods that are not entirely safe.
On access to sanitation, he observed that households used water closets, traditional pit latrines, Kumasi Improved Improved Pits (KVIPs) among others, adding that "21.5% of households have access to effective sanitation, with the regional access in the Western Region being 34.8%, and 10% for the Central Region."
He lamented that open defecation was still prevalent, constituting 66.7% in the Central Region, and defecation along the beaches entrenched in Teshie, because there were fewer sanitation facilities to serve the increasing number of people in the area.
He noted that there was also the practice of export, by which means people defecated into rubbers and containers to drop into gutters among others, while there was also shared use of latrines by more than one household of about 57% in the Central and 43.7% in the Western regions.
The M&E Specialist further stated that the study revealed that the disposal of baby feaces was often done by means of dumping in the bush (49%), rinsed into toilets (22%), refuse dump (17%), burying (9%), and left in the open (4%).
He gave physically challenged persons access to sanitation facilities as 45% in the open, 24% in the household, 14% in chamber pots and 17% in traditional pit latrines, with the major problem to them being the long distance they had to walk before accessing sanitation facilities.
The M&E Specialist of FRHP, Elizabeth Hammah, on her part, said their study identified gaps and areas of service provision that need strengthening, such as the need to ensure supportive supervision of health data management at facility level.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201101200682.html
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