Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practice among Students in Secondary School, Ijebu Ode, Nigeria

Abstract

Studies have documented that poor WaSH is accountable for several cases of diarrhea globally, resulting in millions of unnecessary deaths each year, particularly among children, and most notably in underdeveloped countries where poor knowledge and practice of WaSH have been well documented. Therefore, the work prioritizes evaluation of WaSH practice among students in secondary school in Ijebu Ode, in light of the emergence of COVID-19, which has further highlighted the essence of WaSH practice, especially in our schools. A descriptive cross-sectional approach was adopted in the conduct of the investigation, wherein data was sourced from 60 students selected through random numbers from six randomly selected secondary schools (three public and three private), representing a total student population of 360. The data collected through structured questionnaire and personal interview were computed and analyzed descriptively using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Software for Social Scientist (version 20). Findings indicated that majority of the students in Ijebu Ode have adequate knowledge (78.9%) and inadequate practice (45.6%) on WaSH, and thus, concluded that whereas the participants have adequate knowledge on WaSH, it however did not translate into an actual practice. Hence, a need for an intensive effort that will facilitate adequate WaSH practices among the school students through the availability and accessibility of appropriate WaSH resources, with school and home schedules for WaSH practice.