Evaluation of drinking water supply, sanitation services and personal hygiene: a survey in villages of Savadkouh, Mazandaran

One of the most important factors affecting communities’ health is safe drinking water. The UN general assembly considers “ensure availability and sustainable water and sanitation for all “as one of the 17 goals of SDGs for the 2030 development agenda.  Target 6.1 of SDGs aims to provide universal and equitable access to affordable drinking water and to provide safe drinking water for all households. Target 6.2 calls for an end to defecation in an open environment to ensure that each person has access to the toilet and safe disposal system. In current study, 143 Savadkooh villages with defects in water supply systems and health services were selected to update the indicators and implement sustainable development goals.  

A checklist was designed to extract targets 6.1 and 6.2 based on the Joint Monitoring Program (JMP). Considering 7400 households, margin of error of 5%, confidence limit of 95%, and the most conservative mode for response distribution (50%), the sample size was determined (512 households). Samples were collected randomly from all villages and then analysis was performed by SPSS 19.

In drinking water sector, 84% of people have access to safe services, while only 15% and 1% have access to basic services and unimproved services, respectively. In sanitation sector, 98.8% of people use safe services though only 0.2% utilize limited services. In hygiene sector, 98.8% of people are provided with safe services.

Lack of drinking water safety and failure to improve water resources’ quality are the main problems in the drinking water sector. Lack of access to sewage network, wastewater disposal in the land is the biggest health hazard in the region. This study can provide solutions to improve the health quality of affected community.