Obeng Panin Asirifua, Donkor Emmanuel Amponsah, Awere Eric, Oduro-Kwarteng Sampson, Obeng Peter Appiah, Awuah Esi
Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre Kumasi (RWESCK), Civil Engineering Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Department of Civil Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 2;10(13):e33980. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33980. eCollection 2024 Jul 15.
The ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine offers a promising route to safely managed sanitation to many households in developing countries. However, some technical guidelines must be followed in order to realise the technology's advantage of odour and fly nuisance control. This study sought to audit private VIP latrines in selected regions of Ghana to assess their compliance to conventional technical guidelines and to understand the major factors that influence the latrine designs. An inspection checklist was developed to assess 296 private VIP latrines in the Central, Ashanti and Northern Regions of Ghana while semi-structured interviews were conducted among the latrine owners to enquire the factors that influenced the designs of their latrines. The results show that provision of a window in the superstructure (86 %), and the avoidance of an insect screen in the window(s) (77 %) were the most complied guidelines. The use of 150 mm diameter vent pipe was the least satisfied guideline (5 %). On the average, a latrine satisfied about half (3.6) of the technical guidelines that were assessed. The decision or advice of local artisans is the most influential factor in the design of the latrines. Cost was the least mentioned factor cited by the latrine owners. There is the need to establish information desks at the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to guide prospective owners on the proper design and construction of the VIP latrine. In addition, toilet construction should be incorporated in the curriculum for the basic training of building and construction students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Ghana. Further research is required to ascertain the basis of the decisions of local artisans and the potential impact of the use of accessories that are 'borrowed' from the WC toilet on odour and fly control in the latrine.
通风改良坑式（VIP）厕所为发展中国家的许多家庭提供了一条实现安全管理卫生设施的可行途径。然而，为了发挥该技术在控制气味和苍蝇滋扰方面的优势，必须遵循一些技术准则。本研究旨在对加纳选定地区的私人VIP厕所进行审核，以评估其对传统技术准则的遵守情况，并了解影响厕所设计的主要因素。制定了一份检查清单，以评估加纳中部、阿散蒂和北部地区的296个私人VIP厕所，同时对厕所所有者进行了半结构化访谈，以询问影响其厕所设计的因素。结果表明，在建筑上层结构设置窗户（86%）以及不在窗户上设置防虫网（77%）是最符合的准则。使用直径150毫米的通风管是最不令人满意的准则（5%）。平均而言，一个厕所符合所评估技术准则的约一半（3.6条）。当地工匠的决定或建议是厕所设计中最具影响力的因素。成本是厕所所有者提及最少的因素。有必要在各都市、市政和区议会（MMDAs）设立咨询台，以指导潜在所有者正确设计和建造VIP厕所。此外，厕所建造应纳入加纳技术和职业教育培训（TVET）机构建筑专业学生基础培训的课程中。需要进一步研究以确定当地工匠决策的依据，以及从抽水马桶“借用”的配件对厕所气味和苍蝇控制的潜在影响。
