Department of Environmental Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana E-mail:
J Water Health. 2022 Jul;20(7):1091-1101. doi: 10.2166/wh.2022.065.
Water quality improvement, sanitation, and hygiene have been demonstrated to have positive impacts on health, social, and economic development. However, global understanding of water quality, sanitation, and hygiene is limited. The study extracted data from the Joint Monitoring Programme (WHO/UNICEF) and the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to estimate global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) levels. Statistical tools of univariate and multivariate analyses were used to process global access to WASH. Results show that men (53%) had access to safe water compared to women. Women (67%), on the other hand, demonstrated better hygiene practices than men (33%). In addition, adults had access to safe water compared to children, the elderly, and strangers. Globally, there is low water quality in landlock developing countries compared to small island developing states. The categorisation of countries into economic states of low, upper-middle, and high-income countries directly affects water quality, sanitation, and hygiene. Continentally, Africa recorded the least water quality, sanitation, and hygiene levels. Thus, African countries must learn from the best practice in governmental policies and management systems from other continents regarding water improvement, sanitation, and hygiene.
水质改善、卫生和个人卫生对健康、社会和经济发展都有积极影响。然而，全球对水质、卫生和个人卫生的认识有限。本研究从联合监测方案（世卫组织/儿基会）和人口与健康调查（人口基金）中提取数据，以估计全球水、环境卫生和个人卫生（WASH）的水平。采用单变量和多变量分析的统计工具来处理全球获得 WASH 的情况。结果表明，与女性（67%）相比，男性（53%）获得安全用水的比例更高。然而，女性（33%）的个人卫生习惯要好于男性（67%）。此外，与儿童、老年人和陌生人相比，成年人更能获得安全用水。全球而言，内陆发展中国家的水质要低于小岛屿发展中国家。根据低、中上和高收入国家的经济状况对国家进行分类，这直接影响到水质、卫生和个人卫生。从各大陆的情况来看，非洲的水、环境卫生和个人卫生水平最低。因此，非洲国家必须学习其他大陆在水改善、卫生和个人卫生方面的最佳政策和管理制度。
