Water and Latrine Services and Associated Factors among Residents of Negele Town, Southeast Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Access to at least a basic water service, improved sanitation, and hygiene contribute to the human health and socioeconomic development of a country. This study was conducted to assess the water and latrine service coverage and related factors among dwellers of Negele town, southeast Ethiopia. METHOD: Two Kebeles (small administrative units) were randomly selected from each of the three zones of the town to collect data via questionnaires from randomly selected household heads (380), interviews of purposely selected key informants (40), and personal observations employing a cross-sectional survey design from March to May 2018. A Chi-square test was conducted to examine the association between various demographic factors and having latrine/tap water. RESULT: Latrine coverage of the town was low (45%) mainly due to shortage of land or funds and expansion of illegal houses. The available latrines were poor in hygiene. Water service (solely tap water) coverage was very low (7.6%) as a result of deficient water sources and nonfunctioning pipelines. The zones, age, educational status, marital status, and family size of the participants were statistically significantly associated with having latrine or tap water, p < 0.05. The administration of the town has planned to build four public toilets and raise its water supply coverage to about 70% by 2019/2020. CONCLUSION: Coverage of latrine and water services of Negele town were so low, implying that it is not on track to achieve the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goal target 6.1 and 6.2. The administration of the town should provide land to residents and search for fund sources for the construction of standardized private and public toilets. Utilizing various water sources, maintaining nonfunctional, and constructing new pipelines should be promoted to improve the water service coverage of the town targeting the national and UN sustainable development goals.