Submission ID 118600
| Issue/Objective | An evaluation of the control of water sanitation and hygiene-related diseases was conducted for the period between 2010 and 2020 in Rwanda. |
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| Methodology/Approach | The methods of evaluation included documents' review, secondary data analysis using demographic health surveys between 2010 and 2020, and focus group interviews. Diarrhea in children under five years old was used to represent water sanitation and hygiene-related diseases while key individual, household, and community factors were used as risk factors. |
| Results | According to the evaluation results, the control of WASH-related diseases through national program intervention is well designed for its easy implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. By 2020, some districts showed a significant reduction diarrhea, while other districts of the Western, Northern, and Southern regions were at higher risk of diarrhea, with the Western region being consistently at higher risk of diarrhea between 2010-2020. Household water treatment, safe water storage, use of clean toilets, and handwashing practices had no significant effect on diarrhea between 2010 and 2020. The study findings showed domestic violence against women and the level of education of mothers had a significant influence on the prevalence of diarrhea between 2010 and 2020. The findings on the implementation process of the program intervention revealed (1) focus on households, but not on community working/occupational and recreational environments for comprehensive and optimal control of WASH-related diseases, (2) miscommunication between the intervention provider and the beneficiaries, (3) limited involvement of community stakeholders, and (4) a lack of integration among parallel and complementary interventions at community level. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Effective implementation of community-based control of WASH-related disease interventions requires acting "global in the local context" with (1) well-informed and fully committed implementers to conduct thorough community needs assessment for comprehensive area-specific solutions and (2) strategies for successful partnerships and integration to address the risk factors at their respective levels in a sustainable manner. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Amans Ntakarutimana Bethel University Amans Ntakarutimana Bethel University Elias Nyandwi University of Rwanda |
