Abstract
Background: Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) remain fundamental public health components critical for children's survival, growth, and development. In Nigeria, children under 18 years are most deprived of WASH, with about 70 per cent lacking access to facilities. There is paucity of information on factors associated with WASH deprivation in Nigeria, especially in the context of children. Hence, this study examine the factors associated with water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) deprivation among children 0-17 years in Nigeria.
Method: A secondary analysis of the 2021 Nigeria Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) was conducted to assess deprivations in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for children, along with associated determinants. A merged dataset comprising a total of 22,058 weighted observations from both the under-five children and children aged 5-17 years was used for this study.
Frequency tables, pie charts and bar graphs were used to examine regional variations child health deprivation. Chi-square statistical test was performed to determine associated factors with child health deprivation in Nigeria at p-value of less than 0.05 level of significance.
Results: This study found that at least one-third of children in Nigeria were deprived of either one or more of water, sanitation or hygiene. Specifically, 32% were deprived of water, 40% were deprived of hygiene facilities and 67% were deprived of sanitation facilities. Across all regions of the country, more children were deprived of sanitation when compared to water and hygiene. Overall, wealth index and geopolitical zone significantly influenced access and availability of WASH facilities for children in Nigeria. Specifically, the education of the household head and wealth index are associated with access to sanitation facilities, place of residence is significantly associated with availability of water while access to hygiene facilities is significantly associated with the sex of the household head.
Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a correlation between factors and the increased likelihood of children experiencing water, sanitation and hygiene deprivation. Although the influence of these factors increases based on determinants and varies by regional dimensions, there are still insufficient implementation practices where deprivation is minimal, and this is influenced by household and other factors.