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Awareness in Jaffna on safe water practices not satisfactory: Study

08 Aug 2022

  • Researchers note need to improve individual-level capacity by conducting awareness and attitudinal change-related community programmes
BY Ruwan Laknath Jayakody Since community awareness on water pollution among residents of Uduvil, Jaffna, Northern Province, and their safe water practices are not satisfactory, there is a clear need for the improvement of the individual level capacity in this regard by conducting awareness and attitudinal change-related programmes among the community. These findings and recommendations were made in an original article on “The household water usage and community awareness regarding water pollution and the factors associated with it among adult residents in the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area, Uduvil” which was authored by G. Rajeev (Jaffna Regional Director of Health Services) and V. Murali (attached to the Health Ministry) and published in the Jaffna Medical Journal 32(1) in August, 2020. Safe water access and adequate sanitation, as explained in the Census and Statistics Department’s “Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey 2006-2007”, are two basic determinants of good health, both of which are important, per the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) “Water, sanitation, and hygiene”, to protect people from water-related diseases like diarrhoeal diseases and typhoid. “Clean drinking water is important for overall health and plays a substantial role in the health of children and their survival. Giving access to safe water is one of the effective ways of promoting health and reducing poverty. All have the right to access enough, continuous, safe, physically accessible, and affordable water,” Rajeev and Murali observed. Globally, per the WHO's “Waterborne disease related to unsafe water and sanitation”, three out of 10 people, or 2.1 billion, are facing difficulty in access to safe, readily available water, at home. Rajeev and Murali conducted and carried out a community-based, cross-sectional study to describe the community awareness of water pollution and associated factors among adult residents in the Uduvil MOH area. The data collection period was from 8 August 2016 to 12 September 2016. The study population was all adults residing for more than five years. The multi-stage cluster (a single Grama Niladari area) sampling method was used. The study instrument was an interviewer-administered questionnaire consisting of main components including general information, water sources and safe water practices, knowledge related to water pollution, awareness related to water pollution, and risk factors for water pollution. This study sample consisted of 695/85% females. The mean (average) age was 47.8 years. All the participants were Tamil people. The majority (530/77.1%) have an educational achievement of General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O/L) or above. The majority (706/86.5%) were married. The average members in the households among the participants were four with a minimum of one and a maximum of nine. The majority were housewives (638/78.1%). Among the participants, 423/51.8% had a household income between Rs. 10,001 to Rs. 30,000. In terms of the types of own household water sources of the participants, there were wells which included dug wells and tube wells (protected, semi protected, and unprotected). The household water source was mainly wells (73.9%). Despite having their own water source, people use other sources too for drinking purposes. With regard to the distribution of household water sources among the participants which are used for the purposes of drinking, it was either their own well, a common well, a neighbour's well, or supplied by the Local Government. There were those who used bottled water too. The reasons given by the participants for not using their own well water for drinking purposes included suspected pollution, the water not tasting good, the water not smelling good, and lab values indicating pollution. Most (39/4.8%) suspect pollution in their well. The majority (797/97.5%) knew about the water pollution in their area. Only 188/23% knew about all the characteristics of good water. Among the participants, 205/25% knew at least four diseases, out of the five given diseases spread by contaminated water. Among the participants, 397/48.6% had noticed organoleptic (acting on, or involving the use of, the sense organs) changes in their own well, and only 12/1.5% had confirmed the pollution by a lab test. The majority said that human waste (428) and garbage (413) contributed to underground water pollution. The majority (420/51.4%) responded that the proper monitoring of the factory/factories and the monitoring of the septic tank (410/50.1%) is important. The majority (450/55%) said that they gained the said knowledge from newspapers. Nearly 409/50.1% said that they have gained knowledge from the radio, while 408/49.9% gained knowledge from the television and 408/49.9% gained knowledge from websites. There is a significant difference in the knowledge related to water pollution among different educational levels and the presence of water-related diseases in the family. There was a significant association with the age groups and their water treatment practices. The presence of a child under five years in the family had a significant association with water treatment practices. "Assessing the awareness of females, especially housewives, is important, as they are the people mainly involved in the household's safe water practices, fetching water, and looking after the children in the family". The findings of this study showed that 604/73.9% participants have their own well and that out of them, 444/54.3% are having a dug well in their premises. Out of them, only 231/28.2% are protected wells. Around 160/19.6% have tube wells and 444/54.3% are using their own dug wells for drinking purposes. The education level is important for awareness. Among the participants, 70% had stayed in the area for more than five years. The study had the 40-60 years age group as the majority (329/40.2%), and 64.8% have an educational achievement of GCE O/L or above. Among the participants, 660/80.8% have access to water within 30 minutes of walking distance. If a round trip to collect water took 30 minutes or less, then it was classified as a basic drinking water service. If water collection from an improved source exceeded 30 minutes, it was categorised as a limited service. Due to recent water pollution issues in a few areas, the Local Government is supplying water via a vehicle. This may be the possible reason, Rajeev and Murali opine, that more people can access water within 30 minutes of walking distance. There is a significant difference in the knowledge scores between the educational categories where the group with GCE O/L or above had a significantly higher knowledge score than the below GCE O/L group. Due to their educational qualification, Rajeev and Murali opine, they may be better aware of water pollution. Families with the experience of water-related diseases within two years also had a high knowledge score. Also, safe water practices like treating the water for drinking purposes and the water storage practices are also influenced by such factors.

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