Evaluation of the Implementation of Sanitation and Hygiene Programmes in Mwense District, Zambia

Abstract

Before and few years after Zambia got its independence in 1964, the sanitation crisis became more evident, this reviewed most of the people having lowly paid jobs and in eventuality led to low standards of living because of high illiterate levels. This resulted into a lot of adverse health effects such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever, mostly affecting children under the age of five years consequently leading to high mortality (WHO,2022. This study evaluated the implementation of sanitation and hygiene programs in mwense district, Zambia, were a mixed approach method was used which included both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study population was 772 people with a sample size of 58 household from both kampamba and mwenso village. A purposive sampling technique was in the study because not all the local people in the study area that did not have toilets. The research objectives included the following; to find out the households with improved sanitation and hygiene practices in Mwense District, to assess the effectiveness of existing sanitation and hygiene programs in Mwense District, to identify challenges faced during the implementation of the programs and recommend potential solutions for improvement in Mwense District. The findings provided critical insights for refining sanitation and hygiene strategies in Mwense District as the results showed that (42) 93.3% of the respondents had access to a sanitation facility while 2 (6.7%) did not have. The other findings showed that 15 (34.1%) said the programs were very effective in improving sanitation and hygiene inthe communities while 16 (36.4%) respondent that the programs are ineffective, 11 (25%) responded that the programs are neutral and 2 (4.5%) said the programs are ineffective. Lastly, the major challenge was inadequate funding and it was recommended that funding must be increased for sanitation and hygiene programs. Keywords: Sanitation, Hygiene Programs, Implementation, Evaluation, Public Health, Waterborne Diseases, Community Participation, Sustainability.