Water supply, sanitation and hygiene education in rural Bangladesh : the case of the Barisal (Southern Division) Region

Although Bangladesh has made very substantial progress in clean water supply, this has so far failed to be reflected in improved health. Every year about one third of Bangladeshi children less than 5 years of age die from diarrhoeal diseases. The majority of people live in rural areas where improving the adequacy and quality of water supply, and providing low cost sanitation and effective hygiene education are vital to improve public health. This study concentrates on the Barisal region, a rural area lacking safe drinking water, proper sanitation facilities and exposure to health education campaigns. By examining the present domestic water situation at household level, the present sanitary conditions and hygiene practices/education, the benefits to households of water supply and sanitation improvements, and the possible gap between the policies and strategies of the authorities and the wishes and attitudes of the public, this study aims to identify the direction future development in water supply, sanitation and hygiene education needs to take at the community level to improve the health of the rural people in Barisal. After an introduction delineating the general problem supported by a literature review, Chapter 2 describes the study area including the administrative structure, transportation, climate and natural hazards. In Chapter 3, the methodology of the study is set out. Background information about the households in the area including the social patterns of the household, education and occupations of household members, living conditions and health facilities are described in Chapter 4. Presenting the results of the study, Chapter 5 analyses data, collected during a field visit, and focuses on water supply and uses, sanitary facilities, types of latrines and problems related to latrines, and hygiene practices among the people of Barisal. The final chapter provides a discussion of all the information collected in the investigated area, noting the existing serious problems in water supply, sanitation and hygiene education and suggesting possible solutions for future development especially through community participation.