Environmental Sanitation Practices in Sub-Sahara African Urban Centers: The Experience from Ondo, Nigeria

Access to proper sanitation will have improved living conditions, in terms of increased health and well-being and economic productivity (Elledge, 2003). Not only does proper sanitation reduce the burden of disease, but it provides secondary benefits such as increasing child school attendance, increasing economic productivity of communities, as well as assisting in the empowerment of women (WHO et al., 2004). However, despite its importance, inadequate sanitation impacts individuals and communities worldwide. Every 15 seconds a child dies from diseases largely due to poor water, sanitation and hygiene, with nearly 40% of the global population having no access to hygienic sanitation (WHO et al., 2004). Achieving targets towards improved sanitation coverage is a challenge for the global community and this must be addressed with urgency. The primary preventative method to address these issues is through the implementation of appropriate sanitation strategies and hygiene promotion. Better hygiene through hand washing and food protection can reduce the impact of diarrhoeal diseases resulting from poor sanitation by 33% (Mooijman 2003). Implementation of latrines, providing safe excreta disposal options reduces diarrhoeal diseases by up to 36% (Mooijman 2003; Cairncross & Kolsky 2003). This dissertation aims to highlight the importance of these issues and examine the viability and details of available sanitation options.