Assessment of Sanitation Practices and Diarrhoeal Disease in Rural Imo State

Poor sanitation and hygiene remain leading contributors to preventable illness in rural South East Nigerian communities, and documenting practices and their health linkages in Imo State supports WASH programme design. This study assessed sanitation and hygiene practices and their association with diarrhoeal disease among households in Oru East, Njaba, and Ideato North Local Government Areas, Imo State. A cross-sectional survey of 300 households collected data on toilet facility type, handwashing with soap, water source and treatment, and child diarrhoea incidence in the preceding two weeks. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were applied. Open defecation was practised by 41.7 percent of households. Access to improved sanitation was 37.3 percent. Handwashing with soap at critical junctures was reported by only 22.0 percent. The prevalence of diarrhoea in children under five was 28.4 percent. Children in households practising open defecation had 2.9 times higher diarrhoea odds than those with improved latrines. Recommendations include community-led total sanitation campaigns, subsidised latrine construction programmes, and integration of hygiene promotion into Primary Healthcare Centre community outreach in rural Imo State to reduce the preventable diarrhoeal disease burden.

Keywords: sanitation, hygiene, diarrhoea, Imo State, rural WASH These findings underscore the urgent need for WASH infrastructure investment and behaviour change communication programmes in rural Imo State communities.