Assessing sanitation conditions and its impacts on the health status of urban dwellers in Abuakwa, Ghana. A Cross sectional survey

In recent times, issues on sanitation and urban health have attracted numerous attentions worldwide because of the effect it imposes on human health. The situation is worsened mostly in West African countries especially Ghana where sanitation problems have become a serious problem especially in urban areas. As such, this paper explored the effects of sanitations on health of urban residents of Abuakwa in the Atwima Nwabiagya District, Ghana. A sample of 120 was selected randomly from the total population of the community. Questionnaires as data collection instrument were employed for the data collection to collect primary data. Sanitation conditions in Abuakwa, as urban community was found to be poor. Findings from the study revealed that improper disposal of wastes and inadequate toilet facilities were responsible for poor sanitations and sanitation related diseases- cholera, malaria, diarrhoea in Abuakwa. Public toilet facilities which most Abuakwa residents use were found to be poorly managed and inadequate causing people to engage in poor sanitation practices such as open defecation. The study also found that lack of comfortability and privacy, expensiveness of using public toilet facilities, poor management, dirtiness and smelliness of the toilet facilities were the reasons for people’s refusal to pay for accessing public toilet facilities. The study recommends that the people in urban communities should be educated on good sanitation practices and individuals should make an attempt to build toilet facilities in their homes to reduce pressure and congestion on the existing public toilet facilities. Key words: Health, Diseases, Sanitation, Open defecation, Ghana