THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC SANITATION ON SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH (A CASE STUDY OF LAGOS STATE MUSHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA)
Abstract
This research work “the impact of public sanitation on safety and environmental health” considers the view held amongst the inhabitants of Mushin Local Government Area, Idi – Araba Community. This study identified the impact made by poor sanitation leading to safety and environmental health challenges in Mushin Local Government Area, resulting into flooding and loss of properties as well as being prone to infectious diseases. Also, the study encompassed the purpose of the study which is to identify the impact of public sanitation on health, safety and environment of inhabitants of Idi – Araba community, Mushin Lagos, to determine the rate at which people are aware of the risk involved in poor sanitation practices, to know the relevance of public sanitation on health, safety and environment and to determine if there is any relationship between poor sanitation practices and ill – health. The research work adopted a descriptive design; a sample study of four streets of Mushin Local Government Area, Idi – Araba and a random sampling technique was also adopted. Fifty (50) questionnaires were constructed to elicit responses from the respondents. The data was analyzed with the use of statistical tool for computation. The hypotheses were analyzed through the use of a chi – square computer software. From the results, it was observed that 925 of the respondents strongly agreed that public sanitation has impact on safety and environmental health, 94% of the respondents also agreed that poor sanitation can lead to ill –health. The recommendations were focused towards National Governments, district/Local Governments, Communities and Civil society, Households, International Organization and individuals in making certain contributions to the well – being of the populace.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of contents vi
List of Tables x
List of Abbreviation xi
Chapter One
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background of study 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 5
1.3 Purpose of Study 5
1.4 Research Questions 6
1.5 Research hypotheses 6
1.6 Scope of the Study 7
1.7 Significance of the Study 7
1.8 Definition of Terms 9
Chapter Two: Literature Review
2.0 Introduction 10
2.1 Public sanitation Practices 12
2.2 Practices Aspect of Public Sanitation 13
2.2.1 Personal Sanitation Practices 14
2.2.2 Household Sanitation practices 15
2.2.3 Community Sanitation Practices 15
2.3 Inadequate Sanitation Facilities 15
2.4 Issues surrounding sanitation safety 16
2.5 Links between Water and Sanitation and the Environment 17
2.6 Economic benefits of improved public sanitation 18
2.7 Wider benefits of Sanitation 19
2.8 Health impact of Public Sanitation 20
2.9 Constraints to success in Public sanitation 21
2.10 Strategies to achieve success in sanitation 21
2.11 Global access to improved sanitation 23
2.12 Historical Background of Mushin Area 23
Chapter Three: Research Methodology
3.0 Introduction 25
3.1 Research Design 25
3.2 Population of Study 25
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 25
3.4 Research Instrument 25
3.5 Reliability and Validation of Research Instrument 26
3.6 Data Collection Procedures 26
3.7 Data Analysis and Technique 26
Chapter Four: Data Presentation, Analysis, Interpretation
and Finding
4.0 Introduction 27
4.1 Results 27
4.2 Data Analysis 29
4.3 Discussion of Results 43
Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.0 Introduction 46
5.1 Summary of Findings 46
5.2 Conclusion 46
5.3 Implication of the Study 47
5.4 Recommendations 47
5.5 Limitations of the Study 49
5.6 Suggestions for further studies 50
References 51
Questionnaire 55
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE TITLE Page No
4.1.1 Return of Questionnaires 27
4.1.2 Sex 27
4.1.3 Age group 28
4.1.4 Educational Status 28
4.2.1 Public Sanitation has impact on safety and
environment health 29
4.2.2 People are aware of the risk involved in poor 30
sanitation practices.
4.2.3 Poor Sanitation can lead to ill-health 31
4.2.4 The impact of public sanitation has led to
environmental health challenges 31
4.2.5 Public Sanitation is of high relevance to
individual safety and environment 32
.4.2.6 Crosstab for hypothesis 1; Public sanitation has
significant impact on safety and environment 33
4.2.7 Cross tab for hypothesis 2: People are aware of
the risk involved in poor Sanitation practices 36
* Age Group
4.2.8 Crosstab for hypothesis 3: There is a relationship
between poor sanitation and ill – health 38
4.2.9 Table 4.2.9 Crosstab for Hypothesis 4: 41
There is a significant relevance of public sanitation
on safety and environment of people
Lists of abbreviations
WHO – World Health Organization
UNICEF – United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
UN – United Nation
UNDP – United Nation Development Programme.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Progress in the exercise of sanitation and practice of hygiene has greatly improved health, but many people still have no adequate means of disposing their waste.
Human well – being requires a healthy environment. Inadequate sanitation practices negatively impact the environment .For poor families living in congested urban slums and in villages such as (Mushin), the lack of any sanitation facility means that waste lies on the streets, clogs the drains and creates an immediate local hazard as well as creating optimum conditions for the growth of disease vectors. Water borne sewage uses scarce fresh water resources and may contaminate surface water when it is discharge into the environment without adequate treatment, thus endangering downstream users and aquatic resources.
Therefore, this study looks into the impact of Public Sanitation on Safety and Environmental Health.
1.1 Background of the Study
Progress towards bringing about a cleaner environment has relied on a philosophy of pollution control. This has involved sometimes costly measures and controversial political decisions. As a result, developing countries, poor communities and financially constraint enterprises have often argue that the environment is an expensive luxury that diverts resources from more productive uses.
This perspective is giving way to paradigm stating that neglecting the environment can impose economic and even financial cost while many environmental benefits can in fact be achieved at low cost. (World bank, 1998).
Ukpong (1991) opined that environmental conditions in many areas threaten to reverse the gains made in public health over the last several decades. Every human should have a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. In a tragically degraded environment, human health is threatened. Most cities of the world are faced with problems of growth. In Nigeria, environmental pollution is a challenge to public health as a result of urbanization.
Babalola (1993), lamented over the declining environmental sanitation in Nigeria and appealed to all Nigerians to be involved in maintaining good sanitation.
The exercise of sanitation and practice of hygiene has greatly improved health, but many people still have no adequate means of disposing their waste. This is a growing nuisance for heavily populated areas carrying the risks of infectious diseases, particularly to vulnerable groups such as young, the elderly and people suffering from diseases that lower their resistance. The discharge of untreated waste water excreta into the environment has affected human health in several ways such as; polluting drinking water, creating sites for flies and insects that spread diseases. Due to this, inhabitants of Mushin Local Government Area are exposed to loss of life and property, indiscriminate dumping of refuse (attraction of flies, rodents and vermin’s) that helps in the transmission of disease.
The mission of the Public Health Sanitation program is to protect the health and Safety of the people. Lack of sanitation is a serious health risk and an affront to human dignity. It affects billions of people around the world, particularly the poor and the disadvantaged. If the trends continue has currently projected, by 2015, there will be 2.7 billion people without access to basic sanitation.
In the wake of disasters as much as in everyday life, public health interventions that secure adequate sanitation in communities prevent the spread of disease and save lives. They raise the quality of life for many, particularly women and girls who are often in charge of domestic tasks, and can face personal risks when they have to relieve themselves in the open.
Sanitation is a human right and a key component of primary prevention to ensure better health. Since its inception, WHO has recognized sanitation as vital to global health. Today, the organization continues to help member states improve sanitation status, respond to sanitation needs during emergencies and increase policies and actions that expand access to this basic service.
Furthermore, the need for better sanitation in the developing world is clear. Forty percent of the world’s population – 2.5 billion people – practice open defecation or lack adequate sanitation facilities, and the consequences can be devastating for humans as well as the environment. Even in urban areas, where households and communal toilets are more prevalent, 2.1 billion people use toilets connected to septic tanks that are not safely emptied or use other systems that discharge raw sewage into open drains or surface waters.
Poor sanitation contributes to 1.5 million child deaths from diarrhea each year. Chronic diarrhea can also hinder child development by impeding the absorption of essential nutrients that are critical to the development of the mind, body and immune system. It can also impede the absorption of life – saving vaccines.
Creating sanitation infrastructure and public services that work for everyone, including poor people and that keep waste out of the environment is a major challenge. The toilets, sewers, and waste water treatment systems used in the developed world require vast amounts of land, energy, and water- and they are expensive to build and maintain.
Any investment in better sanitation including the construction of pit latrines can help improve public health and quality of life. Better sanitation reduces child diarrhea and improves overall child health. For women and girls in particular, improved sanitation offers greater dignity, privacy, and personal safety. Solving the sanitation challenge in the developing world will require radically new innovations that are deployable on a large scale.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The researcher has observed over the years that poor sanitation has led to safety and environmental health challenges in the Mushin Local Government Area. Since the area is known to be a low – land Area, the occurrence of flooding which results from lack of proper drainage and above all poor sanitation practice has exposed the inhabitants of the community to imminent damage, loss of life and property, indiscriminate dumping of refuse (attraction of flies, rodents and vermin’s that helps in the transmission of diseases such as; cholera, diarrhea, typhoid fever and dysentery.
1.3 Purpose of Study
- To identify the impact of public sanitation on health, safety and environment of the inhabitants of idi –Araba community, Mushin Lagos.
- To determine the rate at which people are aware of the risk involved in poor sanitation practices.
- To know if there is any relationship between poor sanitation practices and ill – health.
- To know the relevance of public sanitation on safety and environment of people of Mushin Local Government Area.
1.4 Research Questions
- Does public sanitation has impact on safety and environment?
- Are people aware of the risk involved in poor sanitation practices?
- Is there any relationship between poor sanitation practices and ill – health?
- What is the relevance of public sanitation on safety and environment of people of Mushin Local Government Area?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
- Public Sanitation has significant impact on safety and environment
- People who are aware of public sanitation are most likely to practice poor sanitation than people who are not aware of public sanitation.
- There is a significant relationship between poor sanitation and ill – health.
- There is a significance relevance of public sanitation on safety and environment of people of Mushin Local Government Area.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study will give an insight into the impact of public sanitation on safety and environment in Idi – Araba community in Mushin Local Government Area.
1.7 Significance of the study
The research study will be beneficiary to the individual, community members, society of Mushin Local Government Area Idi – Araba in the following ways;
- This study will promote individuals knowledge on how to constantly practice environmental, personal, home sanitation and hygiene.
- Also, enhancing their health needs, creating awareness on the benefits of accessing good water, and having a clean environment free from communicable diseases such as; cholera, typhoid fever and diarrhea.
- This study will create awareness to the relevance of public sanitation to the community members enabling them to constantly practice public sanitation towards environmental sustainability.
- This study will also make the society have access to holistic health needs and free from diseases.
1.8 Operational Definition
Health: This is defined by WHO as the state of complete physical, mental and social well – being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.
Environment: This is the totality of all that exist in the man’s surroundings including the living and non – living components of the environment.
Safety: This is the freedom from harm or danger, free from injury or risk.
Environmental sanitation: This has been defined by WHO as the control of all those factors in man’s physical environment which exercise or may exercise a delirious effect on his physical development, health and survival.
Practice: This is a customary way of operation or behavior. It is the knowledge of how something is usually done.
Rodents: These are relatively small gnawing animals having a small pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing. E.g. rat.
Vermin’s: This is any of various small animals or insects that are pests.
Pollution: This is an undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities.
Sanitation: This is a process of making something sanitary (free of germs) as by sterilizing. It is the state of being clean and conducive to health.
Congestion: This is the excessive accumulation of blood or other fluid in a body part. It is also the excessive crowding.
Hazard: This is an unknown and predictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another.
Clogs: This is to hinder or obstruct with thick or sticky matter; choke up; to crowd excessively e.g. clog of drain.
Well – being: This is the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous.
Illness: This is an unhealthy condition of body or mind.
Transmission: This is the process or means by which one thing or events pass on from one place, person, or thing to another.
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