Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana

This study was done in four rural communities in Ghana to assess uptake of household latrines. A total of 156 household interviews, 16 focus group discussions and 8 in-depth interviews with key informants were conducted. Study findings show that only 8.5% of households were using improved sanitation...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Keraita, Bernard N., Jensen, P.K., Konradsen, Flemming, Akple, Maxwell Selase Kwasi, Rheinlander, T.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: IWA Publishing 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40273
_version_ 1855542138140360704
author Keraita, Bernard N.
Jensen, P.K.
Konradsen, Flemming
Akple, Maxwell Selase Kwasi
Rheinlander, T.
author_browse Akple, Maxwell Selase Kwasi
Jensen, P.K.
Keraita, Bernard N.
Konradsen, Flemming
Rheinlander, T.
author_facet Keraita, Bernard N.
Jensen, P.K.
Konradsen, Flemming
Akple, Maxwell Selase Kwasi
Rheinlander, T.
author_sort Keraita, Bernard N.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This study was done in four rural communities in Ghana to assess uptake of household latrines. A total of 156 household interviews, 16 focus group discussions and 8 in-depth interviews with key informants were conducted. Study findings show that only 8.5% of households were using improved sanitation facilities with more than 75% of the households relying on open defecation and communal trench latrines. Knowledge of technological options was very limited and the cost for preferred latrines was unaffordable. Though health-related benefits motivated household latrine uptake, those related to personal security, privacy, social status and convenience were ranked higher. Sanitation uptake was constrained mainly by finances, poor sanitation promotion and general biophysical factors. High costs of latrine construction could be reduced by introducing cheaper technological options, using low-cost construction materials and labor contributions from households. Financing models like microcredit financing can also be explored and adapted for use in Ghana. We recommend the use of approaches aimed at behavior change while giving households a range of technological options such as community led total sanitation (CLTS). Hence, despite the low coverage of improved sanitation in rural Ghana, there exist real opportunities to accelerate sanitation uptake.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace40273
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher IWA Publishing
publisherStr IWA Publishing
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace402732025-06-17T08:24:21Z Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana Keraita, Bernard N. Jensen, P.K. Konradsen, Flemming Akple, Maxwell Selase Kwasi Rheinlander, T. households latrines sanitation rural communities organizations surveys financing This study was done in four rural communities in Ghana to assess uptake of household latrines. A total of 156 household interviews, 16 focus group discussions and 8 in-depth interviews with key informants were conducted. Study findings show that only 8.5% of households were using improved sanitation facilities with more than 75% of the households relying on open defecation and communal trench latrines. Knowledge of technological options was very limited and the cost for preferred latrines was unaffordable. Though health-related benefits motivated household latrine uptake, those related to personal security, privacy, social status and convenience were ranked higher. Sanitation uptake was constrained mainly by finances, poor sanitation promotion and general biophysical factors. High costs of latrine construction could be reduced by introducing cheaper technological options, using low-cost construction materials and labor contributions from households. Financing models like microcredit financing can also be explored and adapted for use in Ghana. We recommend the use of approaches aimed at behavior change while giving households a range of technological options such as community led total sanitation (CLTS). Hence, despite the low coverage of improved sanitation in rural Ghana, there exist real opportunities to accelerate sanitation uptake. 2013-03-01 2014-06-13T14:47:18Z 2014-06-13T14:47:18Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40273 en Limited Access IWA Publishing Keraita, Bernard; Jensen, P. K. M.; Konradsen, F.; Akple, M.; Rheinlander, T. 2013. Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, (1(1):26-34. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2013.035
spellingShingle households
latrines
sanitation
rural communities
organizations
surveys
financing
Keraita, Bernard N.
Jensen, P.K.
Konradsen, Flemming
Akple, Maxwell Selase Kwasi
Rheinlander, T.
Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana
title Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana
title_full Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana
title_fullStr Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana
title_short Accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana
title_sort accelerating uptake of household latrines in rural communities in the volta region of ghana
topic households
latrines
sanitation
rural communities
organizations
surveys
financing
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40273
work_keys_str_mv AT keraitabernardn acceleratinguptakeofhouseholdlatrinesinruralcommunitiesinthevoltaregionofghana
AT jensenpk acceleratinguptakeofhouseholdlatrinesinruralcommunitiesinthevoltaregionofghana
AT konradsenflemming acceleratinguptakeofhouseholdlatrinesinruralcommunitiesinthevoltaregionofghana
AT akplemaxwellselasekwasi acceleratinguptakeofhouseholdlatrinesinruralcommunitiesinthevoltaregionofghana
AT rheinlandert acceleratinguptakeofhouseholdlatrinesinruralcommunitiesinthevoltaregionofghana